O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!
The verse voices a longing for someone to intercede with God on behalf of a human being, in the same way one person would plead a cause for a neighbor. It stands within the extended debate between Job and his three friends concerning the afflictions that had come upon Job. In that setting it is an appeal directed to God, made while protesting innocence under the pressure of suffering and accusation. The book in which it is found is a poem, and its sense is best grasped by reading the book through as a whole.
The verse voices a longing for someone to intercede with God on behalf of a human being, in the same way one person would plead a cause for a neighbor. It stands within the extended debate between Job and his three friends concerning the afflictions that had come upon Job. In that setting it is an appeal directed to God, made while protesting innocence under the pressure of suffering and accusation. The book in which it is found is a poem, and its sense is best grasped by reading the book through as a whole.