This verse summarizes Eliphaz’s view of God’s intervention on behalf of the poor, and in his view justice always wins in the end. So the poor have hope: the poor translates a word referring to the weak, similar in meaning to “the needy” in verse 15. See 4.6 for the word hope, also 14.7, 19; 17.15; 19.10.

And injustice shuts her mouth: the same expression is found in Psalm 107.42. Injustice translates a noun which refers to evil or wicked conduct and is personified here as having a mouth, either to devour the poor or to boast. It is implied that God is the one who acts in both lines. In languages in which injustice cannot be personified, it may be necessary to express the thought as “and wicked people are stopped from doing evil things” or “God shuts the mouths of evil people.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .