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speaking, but in many years they do not know wisdom. But there is a spirit in mortals, and the breath of the Almighty that teaches. Long ago, he says, sitting and listening to what was being said, and hearing words not worthy of their age, I said to myself: not in every case nor simply are those who have lived many years wise, but there is need of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which does not await a length of time, but makes a man wise at once. And Elihu did not speak surprisingly; for Daniel, younger in age, being instructed by divine grace, refuted the elders who were old in evil days. But grace does not teach indiscriminately, but if it finds a pure soul. 32, 9 It is not the long-lived who are wise, nor the elders who understand judgment. Therefore, time in itself, without grace, is unable to provide wisdom. And 'a decree' seems to mean a part of the ways of God; for 'judgment' is properly the universal, but 'a decree' is the particular. Therefore he says this, that 274 not even a part of the decrees of God can one comprehend, being made wise by time, unless divine grace is added. 32, 1011 Therefore I said: Listen to me and I will announce to you what I know. Give ear to my words, for I will speak while you listen, until you have examined the words, and I will understand as far as you. Other copies, after "for I will speak while you listen," have also these verses: _B_e_h_o_l_d_,_ _I_ _h_a_v_e_ _h_e_a_r_d_ _y_o_u_r_ _w_o_r_d_s_,_ _I_ _g_a_v_e_ _e_a_r_ _u_n_t_i_l_ _y_o_u_r_ _u_n_d_e_r_s_t_a_n_d_i_n_g_. But the other interpreters have rendered it thus: Behold, I received your words, I listened for as long as you were thinking, for as long as you were examining words, and I understood up to your capacity. According to this version and the other copies, then, the meaning is clear. Just as I, he says, quietly heard all that was said and waited until the conclusion of your words and until you emptied all your own thought, you too listen to my words, through your ears plant the sayings in your mind. But according to the copies we have, which contain it thus: "for I will speak while you listen," then connected: "until you have examined the words, and I will understand as far as you," the meaning is this: I say nothing extravagant, but what you are able to test, and "I will understand as far as you," instead of: I will not use empty words, but I will speak what you are able to comprehend and what you are able to understand. 32, 1214 And behold, there was no one refuting Job, answering him 275 words from you, so that you might not say: We found wisdom, siding {with the} Lord; but you permitted a man to speak such words. For this reason, he says, I was prompted to speak, since none of you has been able to refute the words of Job, but you fell silent when a man spoke such things against God. But the phrase "so that you might not say: We found wisdom, siding with the Lord" suggests some such meaning as this: and so that you might not think that simply to side with God's part and to advocate for God is wisdom, I am necessarily making these arguments. But the whole meaning appears to be something like this: I came forward, he says, to speak for a twofold reason: first, that you, thinking you were advocating for God and that this was wisdom, might not condemn Job, not knowing the reasons for his affliction—for even if you were god-fearing, you have not yet grasped the measures of wisdom—and because, being unable to contradict Job, you in a way even permitted through your silence a mere man to speak such things against God. 32, 15 They were dismayed and did not answer, because they had made their words old. Some say that these verses are not Elihu's, but the author's, inserting in the middle the friends' falling silent. But I say that these are also Elihu's. And this is the figure called apostrophe; for as if speaking to another about them, he says that: For this reason I speak, since they were struck with amazement at Job's 276 words and showed their own words to be old and rotten and useless through their silence. For this reason he also adds: 32, 16 I waited, for I did not speak, because they stood still, they did not answer. Instead of: I waited and did not speak, thinking that they were able to speak against the

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λαλῶν, ἐν πολλοῖς δὲ ἔτεσιν οὐκ οἴδασι σοφίαν. ἀλλὰ πνεῦμά ἐστιν ἐν βροτοῖς, πνοὴ δὲ παντοκράτορος ἡ διδάσκουσα. πάλαι, φησίν, καθήμενος καὶ τῶν λεγομένων ἐπακροώμενος καὶ οὐκ ἀξίους ἀκούων τῆς ἡλικίας τοὺς λόγους κατ' ἐμαυτὸν ἔλεγον· οὐ πάντως οὐδὲ ἁπλῶς οἱ ἐν πολλοῖς ἔτεσι βιώσαντές εἰσι σοφοί, ἀλλὰ χρεία τῆς τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος χάριτος τῆς οὐκ ἀναμενούσης χρόνου μῆκος, ἀλλ' ἀθρόως σοφιζούσης τὸν ἄνθρωπον. καὶ οὐ θαυμασίως δὲ εἶπεν Ἐλιούς· ὁ γὰρ νεώτερος καθ' ἡλικίαν ∆ανιὴλ τῇ θείᾳ χάριτι φρενωθεὶς τοὺς πεπαλαιωμένους ἡμερῶν κακῶν πρεσβυτέρους διήλεγξεν. διδάσκει δὲ ἡ χάρις οὐκ ἀκρίτως, ἀλλ' ἐὰν εὕρῃ ψυχὴν καθαράν. 32, 9 οὐχ οἱ πολυχρόνιοί εἰσι σοφοί, οὐδὲ οἱ γέροντες οἴδασι κρίμα. καθ' ἑαυτὸν μὲν οὖν ὁ χρόνος δίχα τῆς χάριτος σοφίαν παρέχειν ἀδύνατος. ἔοικε δὲ κρίμα λέγειν μέρος ὁδῶν τοῦ θεοῦ· κρίσις γάρ ἐστι κυρίως ἡ καθόλου, κρίμα δὲ τὸ μερικόν. τοῦτο οὖν φησιν, ὅτι 274 οὐδὲ μέρος τῶν κριμάτων τοῦ θεοῦ δύναταί τίς καταλαβεῖν ὑπὸ τοῦ χρόνου σοφιζόμενος, εἰ μὴ ἡ θεία προσγένηται χάρις. 32, 1011 διὸ εἶπον· ἀκούσατέ μου καὶ ἀναγγελῶ ὑμῖν, ἃ οἶδα. ἐνωτίζεσθέ μου τὰ ῥήματα, ἐρῶ γὰρ ὑμῶν ἀκουόντων, ἄχρις οὗ ἐτάσητε λόγους, καὶ μέχρι ὑμῶν συνήσω. ἕτερα ἀντίγραφα μετὰ τὸ ἐρῶ γὰρ ὑμῶν ἀκουόντων ἔχουσι καὶ τούτους τοὺς στίχους· _ἰ_δ_ο_ὺ_ _ἤ_κ_ο_υ_σ_α_ _τ_ο_ὺ_ς_ _λ_ό_γ_ο_υ_ς_ _ὑ_μ_ῶ_ν_,_ _ἐ_ν_ω_τ_ι_σ_ά_μ_η_ν_ _ἄ_χρι συνέσεως ὑμῶν. οἱ δὲ ἕτεροι ἑρμηνευταὶ οὕτως ἐκδεδώκασιν· ἰδοὺ ἐξεδεξάμην τοὺς λόγους ὑμῶν, ἠκροασάμην ἐφ' ὅσον ἐφρονεῖτε, ἐφ' ὅσον ἐξητάζετε λόγους καὶ μέχρι τοῦ ἐφικέσθαι ὑμῶν ἐνενόουν. κατὰ μὲν οὖν ταύτην τὴν ἔκδοσιν καὶ τὰ ἕτερα τῶν ἀντιγράφων πρόδηλος ἡ διάνοια. ὥσπερ ἐγὼ μεθ' ἡσυχίας, φησίν, ἤκουσα πάντων τῶν λεχθέντων καὶ ἀνέμεινα μέχρι τοῦ συμπεράσματος τῶν ὑμετέρων λόγων καὶ ἕως ὅτε πᾶσαν ἑαυτῶν τὴν φρόνησιν κενώσητε, καὶ ὑμεῖς τῶν ἐμῶν ἀκούσατε λόγων, διὰ τῶν ὤτων ἐγκατάθεσθε τῇ διανοίᾳ τὰ ῥήματα. κατὰ δὲ τὰ παρ' ἡμῖν ἀντίγραφα οὕτω περιέχοντα· ἐρῶ γὰρ ὑμῶν ἀκουόντων, εἶτα συνημμένα· ἄχρις οὗ ἐτάσητε λόγους, καὶ μέχρι ὑμῶν συνήσω, ὁ νοῦς οὗτος· λέγω οὐδὲν ὑπέρογκον, ἀλλὰ ἃ δύνασθε δοκιμάσαι καὶ μέχρις ὑμῶν συνήσω, ἀντὶ τοῦ· οὐ κενοφωνίαις χρήσομαι, ἀλλὰ ἃ δύνασθε συνιέναι λαλήσω καὶ ἃ δύνασθε νοῆσαι. 32, 1214 καὶ ἰδοὺ οὐκ ἦν τῷ Ἰὼβ ἐλέγχων ἀνταποκρινόμενος αὐτῷ 275 ῥήματα ἐξ ὑμῶν, ἵνα μὴ εἴπητε· εὕρομεν σοφίαν {τῷ} κυρίῳ προσθέμενοι· ἀνθρώπῳ δὲ ἐπετρέψατε λαλῆσαι τοιαῦτα ῥήματα. διὰ τοῦτο δέ, φησίν, εἰς τὸ λέγειν προήχθην, ἐπειδὴ μηδεὶς ὑμῶν ἐλέγχειν τοὺς λόγους τοῦ Ἰὼβ δεδύνηται, ἀλλ' ἀπεσιωπήσατε ἀνθρώπου τοιαῦτα πρὸς θεὸν λαλήσαντος. τὸ δὲ ἵνα μὴ εἴπητε· εὕρομεν σοφίαν κυρίῳ προσθέμενοι τοιοῦτόν τινα ὑποβάλλει νοῦν· καὶ ἵνα μὴ νομίσητε, ὅτι τὸ ἁπλῶς προστίθεσθαι τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ μερίδι καὶ θεῷ συνηγορεῖν τοῦτο σοφίας ἐστιν, ἀναγκαίως τοὺς λόγους ποιοῦμαι. ὁ δὲ ὅλος νοῦς τοιοῦτός τις φαίνεται· προῆλθον, φησίν, εἰς τὸ λέγειν δι' αἰτίαν διττήν, πρῶτον μέν, ἵνα μὴ νομίζοντες τῷ θεῷ συνηγορεῖν καὶ τοῦτο εἶναι σοφίαν καταδικάζητε τὸν Ἰὼβ τὰς αἰτίας οὐκ εἰδότες τῆς κακώσεωςεἰ γὰρ καὶ θεοσεβεῖς ἦτε, ἀλλ' οὔπω τῆς σοφίας κατελάβετε τὰ μέτρα, καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἰσχύσαντες ἀντειπεῖν τῷ Ἰὼβ τρόπον τινὰ καὶ ἐπετρέψατε διὰ τῆς σιωπῆς ἀνθρώπῳ γε ὄντι τοιαῦτα λαλῆσαι κατὰ θεοῦ. 32, 15 ἐπτοήθησαν καὶ οὐκ ἀπεκρίθησαν, ὅτι ἐπαλαίωσαν ἐξ αὐτῶν λόγους. φασὶ μέν τινες μὴ εἶναι τοὺς στίχους τούτους τοῦ Ἐλιούς, ἀλλὰ τοῦ συγγραφέως διὰ μέσου παρενθέντος τῶν φίλων τὴν ἀποσιώπησιν. ἐγὼ δέ φημι καὶ τούτους εἶναι τοῦ Ἐλιούς. σχῆμα δέ ἐστι τοῦτο τὸ καλούμενον κατὰ ἀποστροφήν· ὡς γὰρ πρὸς ἕτερον διαλεγόμενος περὶ αὐτῶν φησιν, ὅτι· διὰ τοῦτο λαλῶ, ἐπειδήπερ κατεπλάγησαν τοῦ Ἰὼβ 276 τὰ ῥήματα καὶ τοὺς ἑαυτῶν λόγους παλαιοὺς καὶ σαθροὺς καὶ ἀχρείους ἔδειξαν διὰ τῆς σιωπῆς. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἐπάγει· 32, 16 ὑπέμεινα, καὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἐλάλησα, ὅτι ἔστησαν, οὐκ ἀπεκρίθησαν. ἀντὶ τοῦ· περιέμεινα καὶ οὐκ ἐλάλησα, οἰόμενος αὐτοὺς δύνασθαι ἀντιλέγειν πρὸς τὰ