Job 16:4

New English Translation

⁴I also could speak^[a] like you,
if^[b] you were in my place;
I could pile up^[c] words against you
and I could shake my head at you.^[d]

Job 16:4 tn For the use of the cohortative in the apodosis of conditional sentences, see GKC 322 §109.f.
Job 16:4 tn The conjunction לוּ (lu) is used to introduce the optative, a condition that is incapable of fulfillment (see GKC 494-95 §159.l).
Job 16:4 tn This verb אַחְבִּירָה (ʾakhbirah) is usually connected to חָבַר (khavar, “to bind”). There are several suggestions for this word. J. J. Finkelstein proposed a second root, a homonym, meaning “to make a sound,” and so here “to harangue” (“Hebrew habar and Semitic HBR,” JBL 75 [1956]: 328-31; see also O. Loretz, “HBR in Job 16:4, ” CBQ 23 [1961]: 293-94, who renders it “I could make noisy speeches”). Other suggestions have been for new meanings based on cognate studies, such as “to make beautiful” (i.e., make polished speeches).
Job 16:4 sn The action is a sign of mockery (see Ps 22:7 [8]; Isa 37:22; Matt 27:39).

New English Translation (NET)