What does Job Chapter 13 say, and which statements belong to its speaker?

Job maintained that his eyes had seen and his ears had understood the full scope of divine sovereignty, asserting that he was in no way inferior to his companions in knowledge. Rather than continuing a fruitless argument with men who fabricate falsehoods and uphold perverse opinions, Job expressed his burning desire to present his case directly to the Almighty and reason with God Himself. He urged his companions to remain completely silent so they might at least appear wise, rebuking them sharply for attempting to defend God through deceit and partiality. Job warned them that the Almighty, from whom nothing can be hidden, will severely reprove them for currying favor with Him in secret, and that His dread will fall upon them, comparing their remembrance to ashes and saying their necks will be brought to clay.

In Job’s continuing speech, Job asks for silence to speak what his mind suggests, asking why he tears his flesh with his teeth and carries his soul in his hands. Resolved to speak, Job proclaimed his radical confidence in God: even if the Almighty should slay him, he would still place his trust in Him and reprove his ways in His sight, knowing that God will be his savior because no hypocrite shall come before His presence. Job asks them to hear his speech and receive hidden truths, then expresses certainty that he would be acquitted in judgment, but he begged God for two preliminary conditions before summons: that God withdraw His crushing hand and cease overwhelming him with paralyzing dread. With those terrors lifted, Job invited God either to initiate the charges or permit him to speak first, pleading to know the exact number of his offenses and sins. He laments that God hides His face, treating him as an adversary and deploying supreme power against a wind-blown leaf and dry straw, while holding him accountable for the transgressions of his youth, locking his feet in stocks, and describing himself as to be consumed as rottenness and a motheaten garment.