וְיִֽחֲל֣וּ כַמָּטָ֣ר לִ֑י וּ֝פִיהֶ֗ם פָּעֲר֥וּ לְמַלְקֽוֹשׁ׃
И они ждали меня как дождя; И они широко открыли рот, как для позднего дождя.
Rashi
after a long time After a long time they would speak, because most of their time was spent in silence, for they were anxiously waiting to hear my words.