Job 3:19-26

19 The small and the great are there, and the servant is free from his master.
20 Why does he give light to him who is in trouble, and life to the bitter in soul;
21 To those whose desire is for death, but it comes not; who are searching for it more than for secret wealth;
22 Who are glad with great joy, and full of delight when they come to their last resting-place;
23 To a man whose way is veiled, and who is shut in by God?
24 In place of my food I have grief, and cries of sorrow come from me like water.
25 For I have a fear and it comes on me, and my heart is greatly troubled.
26 I have no peace, no quiet, and no rest; nothing but pain comes on me.

Job 3:19-26 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.

The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.