Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
When I said, "Hear ... and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me" (Job 13:22); my demand convicted me of being "without knowledge." God alone could speak thus to Job, not Job to God: therefore he quotes again God's words (Job 38:3; Job 40:7, "I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me") as the groundwork of retracting his own foolish words. My appeal was a presumptuous demand, instead of a suppliant prayer. God alone can demand.