Job 3:7-17

7 Yes, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry be heard in it.

8 Let those curse it who curse the Sea, those who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan.

9 Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none; may it not see the eyelids of the morning—

10 because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, and hide trouble from my eyes.

11 "Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?

12 Why were there knees to receive me, or breasts for me to suck?

13 Now I would be lying down and quiet; I would be asleep; then I would be at rest

14 with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuild ruins for themselves,

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

16 Or why was I not buried like a stillborn child, like an infant that never sees the light?

17 There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest.

Job 3:7-17 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 [come]
• [b]. Cn: Heb [day]