Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?
Ver. 3. Shall vain words have an end?] Heb. Shall there be an end to words of wind? Ampullatur in arcto. Bubbles of words, big swollen speeches, full of pride, void of reason; when shall we once have an end of them? They that would comfort another indeed must not multiply vain repetition (for these are very burdensome to a serious ear, much more to a sad heart), much less bitter speeches, least of all taunts and buffooneries, as Job 16:4. For, like as, if the eye be inflamed, the mildest medicine troubleth it, so is it here: how much more when harsh and uncouth!
Or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?] That thou rejoinest, having been so fully answered before? Some men will never be said or set down; such is their pertinace, they will not lay down the bucklers, though beaten to their heads. Sed praestat herbam dare, quam turpiter pugnare, Better yield than stand out with dishonour.