Job 3:17-26

17 There the wicked cease from troubling, And there the weary are at rest.
18 There the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the voice of the oppressor.
19 The small and great are there, And the servant is free from his master.
20 "Why is light given to him who is in misery, And life to the bitter of soul,
21 Who long for death, but it does not come, And search for it more than hidden treasures;
22 Who rejoice exceedingly, And are glad when they can find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in?
24 For my sighing comes before I eat, And my groanings pour out like water.
25 For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me.
26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes."

Job 3:17-26 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 1

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.