Job 3:11-22

11 "1Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire?
12 "Why did the knees receive me, And why the breasts, that I should suck?
13 "For now I 2would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,
14 With 3kings and with 4counselors of the earth, Who rebuilt 5ruins for themselves;
15 Or with 6princes 7who had gold, Who were filling their houses with silver.
16 "Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be, As infants that never saw light.
17 "There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at 8rest.
18 "The prisoners are at ease together; They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.
19 "The small and the great are there, And the slave is free from his master.
20 "Why is 9light given to him who suffers, And life to the bitter of soul,
21 Who 10long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for 11hidden treasures,
22 Who rejoice greatly, And exult when they find the grave?

Job 3:11-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 3

In this chapter we have an account of Job's cursing the day of his birth, and the night of his conception; Job 3:1-3; first the day, to which he wishes the most extreme darkness, Job 3:4,5; then the night, to which he wishes the same and that it might be destitute of all joy, and be cursed by others as well as by himself, Job 3:6-9; The reasons follow, because it did not prevent his coming into the world, and because he died not on it, Job 3:10-12; which would, as he judged, have been an happiness to him; and this he illustrates by the still and quiet state of the dead, the company they are with, and their freedom from all trouble, oppression, and bondage, Job 3:13-19; but however, since it was otherwise with him, he desires his life might not be prolonged, and expostulates about the continuance of it, Job 3:20-23; and this by reason of his present troubles, which were many and great, and came upon him as he feared they would, and which had made him uneasy in his prosperity, Job 3:24-26.

Cross References 11

  • 1. Job 10:18, 19
  • 2. Job 3:13-19; Job 7:8-10, 21; Job 10:21, 22; Job 14:10-15, 20-22; Job 16:22; Job 17:13-16; Job 19:25-27; Job 21:13, 23-26; Job 24:19, 20; Job 26:5, 6; Job 34:22
  • 3. Job 12:18
  • 4. Job 12:17
  • 5. Job 15:28; Isaiah 58:12
  • 6. Job 12:21
  • 7. Job 27:16, 17
  • 8. Job 17:16
  • 9. Jeremiah 20:18
  • 10. Revelation 9:6
  • 11. Proverbs 2:4

Footnotes 4

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