Job 3:11-26

Job laments his misfortune

11 Why didn't I die at birth, come forth from the womb and die?

12 Why did knees receive me and breasts let me nurse?

13 For now I would be lying down quietly; I'd sleep; rest would be mine

14 with kings and earth's advisors, who rebuild ruins for themselves,

15 or with princes who have gold, who fill their houses with silver.

16 Or why wasn't I like a buried miscarried infant, like babies who never see light?

17 There the wicked rage no more; there the weak rest.

18 Prisoners are entirely at ease; they don't hear a boss's voice.

19 Both small and great are there; a servant is free from his masters.

20 Why is light given to the hard worker, life to those bitter of soul,

21 those waiting in vain for death, who search for it more than for treasure,

22 who rejoice excitedly, who are thrilled when they find a grave?

23 Why is light given to the person whose way is hidden, whom God has fenced in?

24 My groans become my bread; my roars pour out like water.

25 Because I was afraid of something awful, and it arrived; what I dreaded came to me.

26 I had no ease, quiet, or rest, and trembling came.

Job 3:11-26 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb lacks is light given.