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Job Chapter
Three
New King James Version (NKJV)
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; first the
day
to which he wishes the most extreme darkness
Job 3:4; 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; The
reasons follow
because it did not prevent his coming into the world
and
because he died not on it
Job 3:10; 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; 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; 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.
Job 3:1 After
this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
YLT
1After this hath Job opened
his mouth
and revileth his day.
After this opened Job his mouth
.... order to speak
and
began to speak of his troubles and afflictions
and the sense he had of them;
for though
this phrase may sometimes signify to speak aloud
clearly and
distinctly
and with great freedom and boldness
yet here it seems to design no
more than beginning to speak
or breaking silence after it had been long kept:
be spake after his first trial and blessed the name of the Lord
and upon his
second
and reproved his wife for her foolish speaking; but upon the visit of
his three friends
and during the space of seven days
a profound silence was
kept by him and them; and when he perceived that they chose not to speak to
him
and perhaps his distemper also decreased
and his pain somewhat abated
he
broke out into the following expressions:
and cursed his day: he did not curse his God
as Satan said he
would
and his wife advised him to: nor did he curse his fellow creatures
or
his friends
as wicked men in passion are apt to do
nor did he curse himself
as profane persons often do
when any evil befalls them; but he cursed his day;
not the day on which his troubles came upon him
for there were more than one
and they were still continued
but the day of his birth
as appears from Job 3:3; and so the
Syriac and Arabic versions add here
"in which he was born"; and what
is meant by cursing it may be learnt from his own words in the following
verses
the substance of which is
that he wished either it had never been
or
he had never been born; but since that was impossible
that it might be
forgotten
and never observed or had in esteem
but be buried oblivion and
obscurity
and be branded with a black mark
as an unhappy day
for ever: the
wordF19"Opponitur verbum" קלל
"verbo" כבד; "significat se
pronunciasse diem inglorium"
Codurcus. signifies
he made light of it
and spoke slightly and contemptibly of it; he disesteemed it
yea
detested it
and could not bear to think of it
and desired that it might be disrespected by
God and men; so that there is no need of such questions
whether it is in the
power of man to curse? and whether it is lawful to curse the creature? and
whether a day is capable of a curse? The frame of mind in which Job was when he
uttered these words is differently represented; some of the Jewish writers will
have it that he denied the providence of God
and thought that all things
depended upon the stars
or planets which rule on the day a man is born
and
therefore cursed his stars; whereas nothing is more evident than that Job
ascribes all that befell him to the purpose and providence of God
Job 23:14; some say
he was in the utmost despair
and had no hope of eternal life and salvation
but the contrary to this is clear from Job 13:15; and many
think he had lost all patience
for which he was so famous; but if he had
he
would not have been so highly spoken of as he is in James 5:11; it is
true indeed there may be a mixture of weakness with respect to the exercise of
that grace at this time
and which may appear in some after expressions of his;
yet were it not for these and the like
as we could not have such an idea of
his sorrows and afflictions
and of that quick sense and perception he had of
them
so neither of his exceeding great patience in enduring them as he did;
and
besides
what impatience he was guilty of was not only graciously
forgiven
but he through the grace of God was enabled to conquer; and patience
had its perfect work in him
and he persevered therein to the end; though after
all he is not to be excused of weakness and infirmity
since he is blamed not
only by Elihu
but by the Lord himself; yea
Job himself owned his sin and
folly
and repented of it
Job 40:4.
Job 3:2 2 And Job spoke
and said:
YLT
2And Job answereth and
saith: --
And Job spake
and said. Or "answered and
said"F20ויען "et
respondit"
Pagninus
Montanus
Schmidt
Schultens
Michaelis.
though
not a word was spoken to him by his friends; he answered to his own calamity
and to their silence
as Schmidt observes; and this word is sometimes used when
nothing goes before
to which the answer is
as many Jewish writers observe
as
in Exodus 32:27;
Jarchi interprets it
"he cried"
and so some othersF21"Clamavitquo"
Mercerus; "nam proloquens"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. render
it: from henceforwards to Job 42:6
this book
is written in a poetical style
in Hebrew metre as is thought
which at present
is pretty much unknown
even to the Jews themselves; some have been of opinion
that the following discourses between Job and his friends were not originally
delivered in metre
but were put into this form by the penman or writer of the
book; but of this we cannot be certain; in the Targum in the king of Spain's
Bible it is
"and Job sung and said".
Job 3:3 3 “May the day perish on
which I was born
And the night in which it was said
‘A male child is
conceived.’
YLT
3Let the day perish in which
I am born
And the night that hath said: `A man-child hath been conceived.'
Let the day perish wherein I was born
.... Here
begins Job's form of cursing his day
and which explains what is meant by it;
and it may be understood either of the identical day of his birth
and then the
sense is
that he wished that had never been
or
in other words
that he had
never been born; and though these were impossible
and Job knew it
and
therefore such wishes may seem to be in vain
yet Job had a design herein
which was to show the greatness of his afflictions
and the sense he had of
them: or else of his birthday
as it returned year after year; and then his
meaning is
let it not be kept and observed with any solemnity
with feasting
and other expressions of joy
as the birthdays of great personages especially
were
and his own very probably had been
since his children's were
Job 1:4; but now he
desires it might not be so for the future
but be entirely disregarded; he
would have it perish out of his own memory
and out of the memory of others
and even be struck out of the calendar
and not be reckoned with the days of
the month and year
Job 3:6; both may
be intended
both the very day on which he was born
and the yearly return of
it:
and the night in which it was said
there is a man child
conceived; that is
let that night perish also; he wishes it had not been
or he had not been conceived
or for the future be never mentioned
but
eternally forgotten: Job goes back to his conception
as being the spring of
his sorrows; for this he knew as well as David
that he was shapen in iniquity
and conceived in sin
see Job 14:4; but
rather
since the particular night or time of conception is not ordinarily
easily
and exactly known by women themselves
and much less by men; and more
especially it could not be told what sex it was
whether male or female that
was conceived
and the tidings of it could not be brought by any; it seems
better with Aben Ezra to render the wordF23הרה
גבר "in lucem editus est vir"
Mercerus;
"creatus
progenitus"
Drusius
so the Targum; "conceptus et
natus est vir
vel mas"
Michaelis; so Ben Melech.
"there is a man
child brought forth"
which used to be an occasion of joy
John 16:21; and so
the word is used to bear or bring forth
1 Chronicles 4:17;
see Jeremiah 20:15;
and
according to him
it was a doubt whether Job was born in the day or in the
night; but be it which it will
if he was born in the day
he desires it might
perish; and if in the night
he wishes the same to that; though the words may
be rendered in a beautiful and elegant manner nearer the original
"and
the night which said
a man child is conceived"F24והלילה אמר "et nox quae
dixit"
Mercerus
Gussetius
Schultens. ; representing
by a prosopopoeia
the night as a person conscious of the conception
as an eyewitness of it
and
exulting at it
as Schultens observes.
Job 3:4 4 May that day be darkness; May
God above not seek it
Nor the light shine upon it.
YLT
4That day -- let it be
darkness
Let not God require it from above
Nor let light shine upon it.
Let that day be darkness
.... Not only dark
but
darkness itself
extremely dark; and which is to be understood not figuratively
of the darkness of affliction and calamity; this Job would not wish for
either
for himself
who had enough of that
or for others; but literally of gross
natural darkness
that was horrible and dreadful
as someF24חשך "horrens"
Caligo
Schultens. render it: this
was the reverse of what God said at the creation
"let there be
light"
Genesis 1:3
and
there was
and he called it day; but Job wishes his day might be darkness
as
the night; either that it had been always dark
and never become day
or in its
return be remarkably dark and gloomy:
let not God regard it
from above; that is
either God who
is above
and on high
the High and Holy One
the Most High God
and who is
higher than the highest
and so this is a descriptive character of him; or else
this respects the place where he is
the highest heaven
where is his throne
and from whence he looks and takes notice of the sons of men
and of all things
done below: and this wish must be understood consistent with his omniscience
who sees and knows all persons and things
even what are done in the dark
and
in the darkest days; for the darkness and the light are alike to him; and as
consistent with his providence
which is continually exercised about persons
and things on earth without any intermission
even on every day in the year;
and was it to cease one day
hour
or moment
all would be dissolved
and be
thrown into the utmost confusion and disorder: but Job means the smiles of his
providence
which he wishes might be restrained on this day; that he would not
cause his sun in the heavens to shine out upon it
nor send down gentle and
refreshing showers of rain on it; in which sense he is said to care for and
regard the land of Canaan
Deuteronomy 11:11;
where the same word is used as here; or the sense is
let it be so expunged
from the days of the year
the when it is sought for
and if even it should be
by God himself
let it not be found; or let him not "seek"F25אל ידרשהו "ne
requirat"
Montanus
&c. after it
to do any good upon it:
neither let the light shine upon it; the light of the sun
or
the morning light
as the Targum
much less the light at noonday; even not the
diurnal light
as Schmidt interprets it
in any part of the day: light is God's
creature
and very delightful and desirable; the best things
and the most
comfortable enjoyments
whether temporal
spiritual
or eternal
are expressed
by it; and
on the other hand
a state of darkness is the most uncomfortable
and therefore the worst and most dismal things and states are signified by it.
Job 3:5 5 May darkness and the
shadow of death claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the
day terrify it.
YLT
5Let darkness and death-shade
redeem it
Let a cloud tabernacle upon it
Let them terrify it as the most
bitter of days.
Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it
.... Let there
be such darkness on it as on persons when dying
or in the state of the dead;
hence the sorest afflictions
and the state of man in unregeneracy
are
compared unto it
Psalm 23:4; let
there be nothing but foul weather
dirt
and darkness in it
which may make it
very uncomfortable and undesirable; some render the word
"let darkness
and the shadow of death redeem it"F26יגאלהו
"vindicassent"
Junius & Tremellius; "vendicent"
Cocceius; "vindicent"
Schultens.
challenge and claim it as their
own
and let light have no share or property in it:
let a cloud dwell upon it; as on Mount Sinai when
the law was given; a thick dark cloud
even an assemblage of clouds
so thick
and close together
that they seem but one cloud which cover the whole heavens
and obscure them
and hinder the light of the sun from shining on the earth;
and this is wished to abide not for an hour or two
but to continue all the
day:
let the blackness of the day terrify it; let it be
frightful to itself; or rather
let the blackness be such
or the darkness of
it such gross darkness
like that as was felt by the Egyptians; that the
inhabitants of the earth may be terrified with it
as Moses and the Israelites
were at Mount Sinai
at the blackness
tempest
thunders
and lightnings
there
seen and heard: as some understand this of black vapours exhaled by the sun
with which the heavens might be filled
so others of sultry weather and
scorching heat
which is intolerable: others render the words
"let them
terrify it as the bitternesses of the day"F1כמרירי
יום "tanquam amaritudines dici"
Schmidt
Michaelis; "velut amarulenta diei"
Schultens; so the Targum. ;
either with bitter cursings on it
or through bitter calamities in it; or
"as those who have a bitterF2"Velut amari
diei"
Mercerus; "tanquam amari diei"
Montanus. day"
as
in the margin of our Bibles
and in others.
Job 3:6 6 As for
that night
may darkness seize it; May it not rejoice[a] among the
days of the year
May it not come into the number of the months.
YLT
6That night -- let thick
darkness take it
Let it not be united to days of the year
Into the number of
months let it not come.
As for that night
.... The night of
conception; Job imprecated evils on the day he was born
now on the night he
was conceived in
the returns of it:
let darkness seize upon it; let it not only he
deprived of the light of the moon and stars
but let an horrible darkness seize
upon it
that it may be an uncommon and a terrible one:
let it not be joined unto the days of the year; the solar
year
and make one of them; or
"let it not be one among them"F3אל יחד "non sit una inter
dies"
Pagninus; "ne adunatur in diebus"
Montanus.
let it
come into no account
and when it is sought for
let it not appear
but be
found wanting; "or let it not joy" or "rejoice among the days of
the year"F4"Ne fuisset gavisa"
Junius &
Tremellius; "ne gaudeat"
Vatablus
Beza
Mercerus
Piscator
Drusius
Broughton
Cocceius
Schmidt
Schultens
Michaelis.
as Jarchi
Aben
Ezra
and others interpret it
or be a joyful one
or anything joyful done or
enjoyed in it:
let it not come into the number of the months; meaning not
the intercalated months
as Sephorno
nor the feasts of the new moon
as
others
but let it not serve to make up a month
which consists of so many days
and nights
according to the course of the moon; the sense both of this and the
former clause is
let it be struck out of the calendar.
Job 3:7 7 Oh
may that night be
barren! May no joyful shout come into it!
YLT
7Lo! that night -- let it be
gloomy
Let no singing come into it.
Lo
let that night be solitary
.... Let there be no
company for journeys
or doing any business; no meetings of friends
neighbours
or relations on it
for refreshment
pleasure
and recreation
after the business of the day is over
as is frequently done; let there be no
associations of this kind
or any other: in the night it was usual to have
feasts on various accounts
and especially on account of marriage; but now let
there be none
let there be as profound a silence as if all creatures
men and
beasts
were dead
and removed from off the face of the earth
and nothing to
be heard and seen on it: or
"let it be barren" or
"desolate"F5גלמוד
"orba"
Syr. "desolata"
Ar. "vasta"
Schmidt.
so R. Simeon bar Tzemach interprets it
and refers to Isaiah 49:21; that
is
let no children be born in it
and so no occasion for any joy on that
account
as follows; let it be as barren as a flintF6"Sterilis"
Schultens; "effoetus"
apud Arab. in ib. See Hottinger. Smegma
Orientale
l. 1. c. 7. p. 136. :
let no joyful voice come therein; which some even carry to
the nocturnal singing of saints in private or in public assemblies
and to the
songs of angels
those morning stars in heaven; but it seems rather to design
natural or civil joy
or singing on civil accounts; as on account of marriage
and particularly on account of the birth of a child
and especially his own
birth
and even any expressions of joy on any account; and that there might not
be so much as the crowing of a cock heard
as the Targum has it.
Job 3:8 8 May those curse it who
curse the day
Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan.
YLT
8Let the cursers of day mark
it
Who are ready to wake up Leviathan.
Let them curse it that curse the day
.... Their own
day
either their birthday
or any day on which evil befalls them; and now such
as are used to this
Job would have them
while they were cursing their own
day
to throw some curses upon his; or that curse the daylight in general
as
adulterers and murderers
who are said to rebel against the light
see Job 24:13; and as
some Ethiopians
who lived near Arabia
and so known to Job
who supposed there
was no God
and used to curse the sun when it rose and set
as various writers
relateF7Diodor. Sic. l. 3. p. 148. Strabo
Geograph. l. 17. P. 565.
called by othersF8Herodot. Melpomene
sive
l. 4. c. 184. Mela de
Situ Orbis
l. 1. c. 8. Solin. Polyhistor
c. 44. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 8.
Atlantes; or it may design such persons who were hired at funerals
to mourn
for the dead
and who
in their doleful ditties and dirges
used to curse the
day on which the person was born whom they lamented; or it may be rather the
day on which he died; hence it follows:
who are ready to raise up their mourning; who were
expert at the business
and who could raise up a howl
as the Irish now do
or
make a lamentation for the dead when they pleased; such were the mourning women
in Jeremiah 9:17; and
those that were skilful of lamentation
Amos 5:16; some
render the words
"who are ready to raise up Leviathan"F9לויתן "Leviathanem"
Schmidt
Michaelis. Mr.
Broughton renders the words
"who hunt Leviathan."
and interpret it
either of the whale
which
when raised up by the fishermen
they are in danger
of their vessels being overturned
and their lives lost
and then they curse
the day that ever they entered into such service
and exposed themselves to
such danger; or of fish in general
and of fishermen cursing and swearing when
they are unsuccessful: some understand this of astrologers
magicians
and
enchanters
raising spirits
and particularly the devil
who they think is
meant by Leviathan; but it seems best with a little alteration from Gussetius
and Schultens after him
to render the words thus
"let the cursers of the
day fix a name upon it; let those that are ready "to anything
call
it" the raiser up of Leviathan;'that is
let such who either of themselves
are used to curse days
or are employed by others to do it
brand this night
with some mark of infamy; let them ascribe all dreadful calamities and dismal
things unto it
as the source and spring of them; which may be signified by
Leviathan
that being a creature most formidable and terrible
of which an
account is given in the latter part of this book; but many Jewish writersF11Vid.
Aben Ezram & Gersom in loc. R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed
fol. 1. 1. Aruch in
voce לוית. So the word is used
T. Hieros. Moed
Katon
fol. 80. 4. render it "mourning"
as we do.
Job 3:9 9 May the stars of its
morning be dark; May it look for light
but have none
And not see the
dawning of the day;
YLT
9Let the stars of its
twilight be dark
Let it wait for light
and there is none
And let it not look
on the eyelids of the dawn.
Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark
.... Either of
the morning or evening twilight; both may be meant
rather the latter
because
of the following clause; the sense is
let not these appear to adorn the
heavens
and to relieve the darkness of the night
and make it more pleasant
and delightful
as well as to be useful to travellers and sailors:
let it look for light
but have none; that is
either for the light of the moon and stars
to shine in the night till
daybreak
or for the light of the sun at the time when it arises; but let it
have neither; let the whole time
from sun setting to sunrising
from one
twilight to another
be one continued gross and horrible darkness; here
by a
strong and beautiful figure
looking is ascribed to the night:
neither let it see the dawning of the day; or
"let
it not see the eyelids of the morning"F12עפעפי
שחר "palpebras aurorae"
Montanus
Mercerus
&c.
or what we call "peep of day"; here
in very
elegant language
the dawn of morning light is expressed
which is like the
opening of an eye and its lids
quick and vibrating
when light is let in and perceived;
or this may be interpreted of the sun
the eye of the morning and of light
and
of its rays
which
when first darted
are like the opening of the eyelids.
Job 3:10 10 Because it did not shut up
the doors of my mother’s womb
Nor hide sorrow from my eyes.
YLT
10Because it hath not shut
the doors Of the womb that was mine! And hide misery from mine eyes.
Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb
.... Or
"of my belly"F13בטני
"ventris mei"
Mercerus
Piscator
Schmidt
Schuitens
Michaelis;
"uteri mei"
Pagninus
Montanus
Junius & Tremellius
Cocceius.
or "womb"; which Aben Ezra interprets of the navel
by which the
infant receives its food and nourishment before it is born
and which
if
closed
he must have died in embryo; but rather it is to be understood of his
mother's womb
called his
because he was conceived and bore in it
and was
brought forth from it; and the sense is
that he complains of the night
either
that it did not close his mother's womb
and hinder the conception of him
as
Gersom
Sephorno
Bar Tzemach
and others
and is the usual sense of the phrase
of closing the womb
and which is commonly ascribed to God
Genesis 20:17 1 Samuel 1:5; which
Job here attributes to the night
purposely avoiding to make mention of the
name of God
that he might not seem to complain of him
or directly point at
him; or else the blame laid on that night is
that it did not so shut up the
doors of his mother's womb
that he might not have come out from thence into
the world
wishing that had been his grave
and his mother always big with him
as Jarchi
and which sense is favoured by Jeremiah 20:17; a
wish cruel to his mother
as well as unnatural to himself:
nor hid sorrow from mine eyes; which it would have
done
had it done that which is complained of it did not; had it he could not
have perceived it experimentally
endured the sorrows and afflictions he did
from the Chaldeans and Sabeans
from Satan
his wife
and friends; and had
never known the trouble of loss of substance
children
and health
and felt
those pains of body and anguish of mind he did; these are the reasons of his
cursing the day of his birth
and the night of his conception.
Job 3:11 11 “Why did I not die at
birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?
YLT
11Why from the womb do I not
die? From the belly I have come forth and gasp!
Why died I not from the womb?.... That is
as soon as
he came out of it; or rather
as soon as he was in it
or from the time that he
was in it; or however
while he was in it
that so he might not have come alive
out of it; which sense seems best to agree both with what goes before and
follows after; for since his conception in the womb was not hindered
he wishes
he had died in it; and so some versions render it to this senseF14מרחם εν κοιλια
Sept. "in vulva"
V. L. "aut
in utero"
Beza
Mercerus
Cocceius
Junius
Michaelis; so R. Abraham Peritzol
and Simeon Bar Tzemach. :
why did I not give up
the ghost when I came out of the belly? since he died not in the
womb
which was desirable to him
he wishes that the moment he came out of it
he had expired
and is displeased because it was not so
see Jeremiah 20:17;
thus what is the special favour of Providence
to be taken out of the womb
alive
and preserved
he wishes not to have enjoyed
see Psalm 22:9.
Job 3:12 12 Why did the knees receive
me? Or why the breasts
that I should nurse?
YLT
12Wherefore have knees been
before me? And what [are] breasts
that I suck?
Why did the knees prevent me?.... Not of the mother
as Jarchi
but of the midwife
who received him into her lap
and nourished and
cherished him
washed him with water
salted
and swaddled him; or it may be of
his father
with whom it was usual to take the child on his knees as soon as
born
see Genesis 50:23;
which custom obtained among the Greeks and RomansF15Homer. Iliad. 9.
Vid. Barthii Animadv. ad Claudian. in Nupt. Honor. ver. 341. ; hence the
goddess LevanaF16Kipping. Antiqu. Roman. l. 1. c. 1. sect. 10. had
her name
causing the father in this way to own his child; his concern is
that
he did not fall to the ground as he came out of his mother's womb
and with
that fall die; and that he was prevented from falling by the officious knees of
the midwife; that he was not suffered to fall
and be left there
without
having any of the usual things done to him for the comfort and preservation of
life
which was sometimes the case
Ezekiel 16:4
or why the breasts that I should suck? since a
miscarrying womb was not given
and death did not seize him immediately upon
birth
but all proper care was taken to prevent it
he asks
why was there milk
in the breasts of his mother or nurse to suckle and nourish him? why were there
not dry breasts
such as would afford no milk
that so he might have been
starved? thus he wishes the kindest things in nature and Providence had been
withheld from him.
Job 3:13 13 For now I would have lain
still and been quiet
I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest
YLT
13For now
I have lain down
and am quiet
I have slept -- then there is rest to me
For now should I have lain still
and been quiet
....
Signifying
that if the above had been his case
if he had died as soon as
born
or quickly after
then he would have been laid in the grave
where he
would have lain as still as on a bed; for such is the grave to dead bodies as a
bed is to those that lie down and sleep upon it; a place of ease and quiet
where there is freedom from all care and thought
from all trouble
anxiety
and distress; nay
more so than on a bed
where there is often tossing to and
fro
and great disquietude
but none to the body in the grave
that is still
and silent
where there is no uneasiness nor disturbance
see Job 17:13
I should have slept; soundly and quietly
which persons do not always upon their beds; sometimes they cannot sleep at
all
and when they do
they are frequently distressed with uneasy thoughts
frightful dreams
and terrifying visions
Job 4:13; but death
is a sound sleep until the resurrection morn
which Job had knowledge of
and
faith in
and so considered the state of the dead in this light; death is often
in Scripture expressed by sleeping
Daniel 12:2; which
refers not to the soul
which in a separate state is active and vigorous
and
always employed; but to the body
which
as in sleep
so in death
is deprived
of the senses
and the exercise of them; on which account there is a great
likeness between sleep and death
and out of which a man awakes brisk and
cheerful
as the saints will at the time of their resurrection
which will be
like an awaking out of sleep:
then had I been at rest; from all toil and
labour
from all diseases and pains of body
from all troubles of whatsoever
kind
and particularly from those he now laboured under; see Gill on Job 3:17.
Job 3:14 14 With kings and counselors
of the earth
Who built ruins for themselves
YLT
14With kings and counsellors
of earth
These building wastes for themselves.
With the kings and counsellors of the earth
.... From whom
he might descend
he being a person of great distinction and figure; and so
had he died
he would have been buried in the sepulchres of his ancestors
and
have lain in great pomp and state: or rather this he says
to observe that
death spares none
that neither the power of kings
who have long hands
nor the
wisdom of counsellors
who have long heads
can secure them from death; and
that after death they are upon a level with others; and even he suggests
that
children that die as soon as born
and have made no figure in the world
are
equal to them:
which built desolate places for themselves; either that
rebuilt houses and cities that had lain in ruins
or built such in desolate
places
where there had been none before
or formed colonies in places before
uninhabited; and all this to get a name
and to perpetuate it to posterity: or
rather sepulchral monuments are meant
such as the lofty pyramids of the
Egyptians
and superb mausoleums of others; which
if not built in desolate
places
yet are so themselves
being only the habitations of the dead
and so they
are called the desolations of old
Ezekiel 26:20; and
this is the sense of many interpretersF17Pineda
Bolducius
Patrick
Caryll
Schultens
and others. ; if any man desires
says VanslebF18Relation
of a Voyage to Egypt
p. 91.
a prospect and description of such ancient
burying places
let him think on a boundless plain
even
and covered with
sand
where neither trees
nor grass
nor houses
nor any such thing
is to be
seen.
Job 3:15 15 Or with princes who had
gold
Who filled their houses with silver;
YLT
15Or with princes -- they
have gold
They are filling their houses [with] silver.
Or with princes that had gold
.... A large abundance of
it while they lived
but now
being dead
were no longer in the possession of
it
but on a level with those that had none; nor could their gold
while they
had it
preserve them from death
and now
being dead
it was no longer theirs
nor of any use unto them; these princes
by this description of them
seem to
be such who had not the dominion over any particular place or country
but
their riches lay in gold and silver
as follows:
who filled their houses with silver; had an abundance of it
either in their coffers
which they hoarded up
or in the furniture of their
houses
which were much of it of silver; they had large quantities of silver
plate
as well as of money; but these were of no profit in the hour of death
nor could they carry them with them; but in the grave
where they were
those
were equal to them
of whom it might have been said
silver and gold they had
none.
Job 3:16 16 Or why was I not
hidden like a stillborn child
Like infants who never saw light?
YLT
16(Or as a hidden abortion I
am not
As infants -- they have not seen light.)
Or as an hidden untimely birth
.... Or "hid
as one
born out of time"
as Mr. Broughton reads it; the Septuagint use the same
word as the apostle does
when he says the like of himself
1 Corinthians 15:8;
the word has the signification of "falling"F19כגפל "sicut abortivus qui ex utero excidit
aut in
terram cadit"
Michaelis.
and designs an abortive
which is like to
fruit that falls from the tree before it is ripe; and this may be said to be
"hidden"
either in the belly
as the Targum
or however from the
sight of man
it being not come to any proper shape
and much less perfection;
now Job suggests
that if he had not lain with kings
counsellors
and princes
yet at least he should have been as an abortion
and that would have been as
well to him: then
I had not been; or should have been nothing
not reckoned
anything; should not have been numbered among beings
but accounted as a
nonentity
and should have had no subsistence or standing in the world at all:
as infants which never saw light; and if not
like an untimely birth
which is not come to any perfection
yet should have
been like infants
which
though their mothers have gone their full time with
them
and they have all their limbs in perfection and proportion
yet are dead
or stillborn
their eyes have never been opened to see any light; meaning not
the light of the law
as the Targum
but the light of the sun
or the light of
the world
see Ecclesiastes 6:3;
infants used to be buried in the wells or caves of the mummiesF20Vansleb
ut supra
(Relation of a Voyage to Egypt
) p. 90. .
Job 3:17 17 There the wicked cease from
troubling
And there the weary are at rest.
YLT
17There the wicked have
ceased troubling
And there rest do the wearied in power.
There the wicked cease from troubling
.... At death
and in the grave; such who have been like the troubled sea
that cannot rest
have always been either devising or doing mischief while living
in the grave
can do neither; there is no work nor device there; such who are never easy
and
cannot sleep unless they do mischief
when dead have no power to do any
and
are quite still and inactive; such who have been troublers of good men
as profane
persons by their ungodly lives
false teachers by their pernicious doctrines
and blasphemies
cruel persecutors by their hard speeches
bitter calumnies and
reproaches
and severe usage; those
when they die themselves
cease from
giving further trouble
or when the righteous die
they can disturb them no
more; yea
a good man at death is not only no more troubled by wicked men
but
no more by his own wicked heart
nor any more by that wicked one Satan; there
and then all these cease from giving him any further molestation:
and there the weary be at rest; wicked men
either who
here tire and weary themselves with committing sin
to which they are slaves
and drudges
and especially with persecuting and troubling the saints
shall
rest front such acts of sin and wickedness
of which they will be no more
capable; or else good men
who are weary of sin
and long to be rid of it
to
whom it is a burden
and under which they groan
and are weary of the troubles
and afflictions they meet with in the world; and what with one thing and
another are weary of their lives
and desire to depart and be with Christ;
these at death and in the grave are at rest
their bodies from toil and labour
and from all painful disorder
and pressing afflictions
and from all the oppressions
and vexations of wicked and ungodly men; their souls rest in the arms of Jesus
from sin and all consciousness of it
from the temptations of Satan
from all
doubts and fears
and every spiritual enemy
by whom they can be no more
annoyed: some render the words
"there rest the labours of strength"F21יגיעי כח "labores
roboris"
Michaelis. : such toils are over that break the strength of men;
or "the labours of violence"F23"Labores
violentiae"
Schmidt.
which are imposed upon them through violence
by
cruel and imperious men; but at death and in the grave will cease and be no
more
even labour of all sorts; see Revelation 14:13.
Job 3:18 18 There
the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the voice of the oppressor.
YLT
18Together prisoners have
been at ease
They have not heard the voice of an exactor
There the prisoners
rest together
.... "Are at ease"
as Mr. Broughton renders the words;
such who while they lived were in prison for debt
or were condemned to the
galleys
to lead a miserable life; or such who suffered bonds and imprisonment
for the sake of religion
at death their chains are knocked off
and they are
as much at liberty
and enjoy as much ease
as the dead that never were prisoners;
and not only rest together with those who were their fellow prisoners
but with
those who never were in prison
yea
with those who cast them into it; for
there the prisoners and those that imprisoned them are upon a level
enjoying
equal ease and liberty:
they hear not the voice of the oppressor; or
"exactor"F24נגש
"exactoris"
Pagninus
Montanus
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
&c. ; neither of their creditors that demanded their debt of them
and
threatened them with a prison
or that detained them in it; nor of the jail
keeper that gave them hard words as well as stripes; nor of cruel taskmasters
who kept them to hard service in prison
and threatened them severely if they
did not perform it
like the taskmasters in Egypt
Exodus 5:11; but
in the grave
the blustering
terrifying
voice of such
is not heard.
Job 3:19 19 The small and great are
there
And the servant is free from his master.
YLT
19Small and great [are] there
the same. And a servant [is] free from his lord.
The small and great are there
.... Both as to age
and
with respect to bulk and strength of body
and also to estate and dignity;
children and men
or those of low and high stature
or in a mean or more
exalted state of life
as to riches and honour
these all come to the grave
without any difference
and lie there without any distinctionF25"Grandia
cum parvis Orcus metit". Horat. Ep. l. 2. ep. 2. ver. 178. "----Mista
senum ac juvenum densantur funera". Horat. Carmin. l. 1. Ode. 28.
"little and great are there all one"; as Mr. Broughton renders the
words
see Revelation 20:12
and the servant is free from his master; death
dissolves all relations among men
and takes away the power that one has
legally over another
as the husband over the wife
who at death is loosed from
the law and power of her husband
Romans 7:2; and so
parents over their children
and masters over their servants; there the master
and the servant are together
without any superiority of the one to the other:
the consideration of all the above things made death and the state of the dead
in the grave appear to Job much more preferable than life in his present
circumstances; and therefore
since it had not seized on him sooner
and as
soon as he before had wished it had
he desires it might not be long before it
came upon him
as in Job 3:20.
Job 3:20 20 “Why is light given to him
who is in misery
And life to the bitter of soul
YLT
20Why giveth He to the
miserable light
and life to the bitter soul?
Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery
.... That
labours under various calamities and afflictions
as Job did
being stripped of
his substance
deprived of his children
and now in great pain of body and
distress of mind; who
since he died not so soon as he wished he had
expostulates why his life is protracted; for that is what he means by light
as
appears from the following clause
even the light of the living
or the light of
the world; which though sweet and pleasant to behold to a man in health
yet
not to one in pain of body and anguish of mind
as he was
who chose rather to
be in the dark and silent grave; this he represents as a gift
as indeed life
is
and the gift of God: the words may be rendered
"wherefore does he
give light?"F25למה יתן "quare dat"
Cocceius
Schmidt
Schultens
Michaelis. that is
God
as someF26So Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. vid. Schultens in loc. supply it
who is undoubtedly meant
though
not mentioned
through reverence of him
and that he might not seem to quarrel
with him; the principle of life is from him
and the continuance and
protraction of it
and all the means and mercies by which it is supported; and
Job asks the reasons
which he seems to be at a loss for
why it should be
continued to a person in such uncomfortable circumstances as he was in; though
these
with respect to a good man as he was
are plain and obvious: such are
continued in the world under afflictions
both for their own good
and for the
glory of God
that their graces may be tried
their sins purged away or
prevented
and they made more partakers of divine holiness; and be weaned from
this world
and fitted for another
and not be condemned with the world of the
ungodly:
and life unto the bitter in soul; whose lives
are embittered to them by afflictions
comparable to the waters of Marah
and
to wormwood and gall
which occasion bitterness of spirit in them
and bitter
complaints from them; see Job 13:26.
Job 3:21 21 Who long for death
but it
does not come
And search for it more than hidden treasures;
YLT
21Who are waiting for death
and it is not
And they seek it above hid treasures.
Which long for death
but it cometh not
.... Who
earnestly desire
wistly look out
wish for
and expect it
and with open mouth
gape for it
as a hungry man for his food
or as the fish for the bait
or the
fishermen for the fish
as someF1So Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. vid. Schultens in loc. observe the word may signify; but it comes not
to their wish and expectation
or so soon as they would have it; the reason is
because the fixed time for it is not come
otherwise it will certainly come at
God's appointed time
and often in an hour not thought of; death is not
desirable in itself
being a dissolution of nature
or as it is the sanction of
the law
or the wages of sin
or a penal evil; and though it is and may be
lawfully desired by good men
that they may be free from sin
and be in a
better capacity to serve the Lord
and that they may be for ever with him; yet
such desires should be expressed with submission to the divine will
and the
appointed time should be patiently waited for
and should not be desired merely
to be rid of present afflictions and troubles
which was the case of Job
and
of those he here describes; see Revelation 9:6
and dig for it more than for hid treasures; which are
naturally hid in the earth; as gold and silver ore
with other metals and
precious stones; or which are of choice concealed there from the plunder of
others; the former seems rather to be meant
and in digging for which great
pains
diligence
and industry
are used
see Proverbs 2:4; and
is expressive of the very great importunity and strong desire of men in distressed
circumstances after death
seeking diligently and pressing importunately for
it; the sin of suicide not being known
or very rare
in that early time
or
however was shunned and abhorred even by those that were most weary of their
lives: some render it
"who dig for it out off hid treasures"F2ממטמונים "e thesauris"
Cocceius; "ex imis
terrae latebris"
Mercerus: "ex locis absconditis"
Schmidt. ;
out of the bowels of the earth
and the lowest parts of it
could they but find
it there: but the Targum
Jarchi
and others
understand it comparatively
as
we do.
Job 3:22 22 Who rejoice exceedingly
And
are glad when they can find the grave?
YLT
22Who are glad -- unto joy
They rejoice when they find a grave.
Which rejoice exceedingly
.... Or
"which joy
till they do skip again"
as Mr. Broughton renders it
and to the same
purport othersF4השמחים אלי
גיל "qu laetantur ad choream usque"
Schultens
"quasi ad tripudium"
Michaelis. ; are so elated as to
skip and dance for joy:
and are glad when they can
find the grave; which is to be understood either of those who dig in the earth
for hid treasure
such as is laid there by men; when they strike and hit upon a
grave where they expect to find a booty; it being usual in former times to put
much riches into the sepulchres of great personages
as Sanctius on the place
observes; so Hyrcanus
opening the sepulchre of David
found in it three
thousand talents of silver
as JosephusF5Antiqu. l. 13. c. 8. sect.
4. Ed. Hudson. relates: or rather this is said of the miserable and bitter in
soul
who long for death
and seek after it; who
when they perceive any
symptoms of its near approach
are exceedingly pleased
and rejoice at it
as
when they observe the decays of nature
or any disorder and disease upon them
which threaten with death; for this cannot be meant of the dead carrying to the
grave
who are insensible of it
and of their being put into it.
Job 3:23 23 Why is light given
to a man whose way is hidden
And whom God has hedged in?
YLT
23To a man whose way hath
been hidden
And whom God doth shut up?
Why is light given to a
man whose way is hid
.... Some of the Jewish writers connect this with Job 3:22
thus;
"who rejoice and are glad when they find a grave for a man"
&c. but it should be observed that such are said to rejoice at finding a
grave
not for others
but for themselves; the words stand in better connection
with Job 3:20
from
whence the supplement is taken in our version and others; and so it is a
continuation or repetition of the expostulation why light and life
or the
light of the living
should be given to persons as before described
and here
more largely; and Job himself is principally designed
as is generally thought
whose way
according to him
was hid from the Lord
neglected and not cared for
by him but overlooked and slighted
and no regard had to the injuries done him
as the church also complains
Isaiah 40:27; or
front whom the way of the Lord was hid; his way in the present afflictive
dispensations of Providence
the causes and reasons of which he could not
understand; not being conscious of any notorious sin committed
indulged
and
continued in
that should bring these troubles on him: or the good and right
way was hid from him in which he should walk; he was at a loss to know which
was that way
since by his afflictions he was ready to conclude that the way he
had been walking in was not the right
and all his religion was in vain; and
according to this sense he laboured under the same temptation as Asaph did
Psalm 73:13; or his
way of escape out of his present troubles was unknown to him; he saw no way
open for him
but shut up on every side: or there was no way for others to come
to him
at least they cared not for it; he who had used to have a large levee
some to have his counsel and advice
and to be instructed by him
others to ask
relief of him
and many of the highest rank and figure to visit
caress
and
compliment him; but now all had forsaken him
his brethren and acquaintance
and his kinsfolk and familiar friends kept at a distance from him
as if they
knew not the way to him:
and whom God hath hedged in? not with the hedge of
his power
providence
and protection
as before; but with thorns and
afflictions
and in such manner as he could not get out
or extricate himself;
all avenues and ways of escape being blocked up
see Lamentations 3:7;
though
after all
the words may be considered as a concession
and as
descriptive of a man the reverse of himself
and be supplied thus; "indeed
light may be given to a man"
a mighty man
as the wordF5לגבר "emphatice ponitur saepe
ut notetur
praepollentia"
Coccei. Lexic in rad גבר.
signifies
a man strong
hale
and robust; "whose way is hid"
or
"covered"F6נסתרה
"tecta"
Cocceius; "velo septa est"
Schultens. ; who is
hid in the secret of God's presence
and in the pavilion of his power; who
dwells in his secret place
and under the shadow of the Almighty
Psalm 31:20; who is
under the shelter of his providence
preserved from diseases of body
and
protected from the plunder and depredations of enemies
and enjoys great
affluence and prosperity
as his three friends about him did
and whom he may
point at: "and whom God hath hedged in"; as he had formerly set a
hedge about him in his providence
though now he had plucked it up; see Job 1:10.
Job 3:24 24 For my sighing comes
before I eat
[b] And my
groanings pour out like water.
YLT
24For before my food
my
sighing cometh
And poured out as waters [are] my roarings.
For my sighing cometh
before I eat
.... Or
"before my bread"
or "food"F7לפני לחמי "ante cibum
meum"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator; "ante panem meum"
Cocceius
Schmidt
Michaelis. ; before he sat down to eat
or had tasted of his
food
there were nothing but sighing and sobbing
so that he had no appetite
for his food
and could take no delight in it; and
while he was eating
his
tears mingled with it
so that these were his meat and his drink continually
and he was fed with the bread and water of affliction; and therefore what were
light and life to such a person
who could not have the pleasure of one
comfortable meal?
and my roarings are poured out like the waters; he not only
wept privately and in secret
and cried more publicly both to God and in the
presence of men
but such was the force and weight of his affliction
that he
even roared out
and that like a lion; and his afflictions
which were the
cause of these roarings
are compared to waters and the pouring of them out;
for the noise these waterspouts made
and for the great abundance of them
and
for their quick and frequent returns
and long continuance
one wave and billow
rolling upon another.
Job 3:25 25 For the thing I greatly
feared has come upon me
And what I dreaded has happened to me.
YLT
25For a fear I feared and it
meeteth me
And what I was afraid of doth come to me.
For the thing which I
greatly feared is come upon me
.... Some refer this to his fears about his
children
lest they should sin and offend God
and bring down his judgments on
them
and now what he feared was come to pass
Job 1:5; others
take in all his sorrows and troubles; which
through the changeableness of the
world
and the uncertainty of all things in it
and the various providences of
God
he feared would come upon him at one time or another; and this he mentions
to justify his expostulation
why light and life should be continued to such a
man
who
by reason of his fear and anxiety of mind
never had any pleasure in
his greatest prosperity
destruction from the Almighty being a terror to him; Job 31:23; but I
think it is not reasonable to suppose that a man of Job's faith in God
and
trust in him
should indulge such fears to such a degree; nor indeed that he
could ever entertain such a thought in him
nor even surmise that such shocking
calamities and distresses should come upon him as did: but this is to be
understood not of his former life
in prosperity
but of the beginning of his
afflictions; when he heard of the loss of one part of his substance
he was
immediately possessed with a fear of losing another; and when he heard of that
he feared the loss of a third
and even of all; then of his children
and next
of his health:
and that which I was afraid of is come unto me: which designs
the same
in other words
or a new affliction; and particularly the ill opinion
his friends had of him; he feared that through these uncommon afflictions he
should be reckoned an ungodly man
an hypocrite; and as he feared
so it was;
this he perceived by the silence of his friends
they not speaking one word of
comfort to him; and by their looks at him
and the whole of their behaviour to
him.
Job 3:26 26 I am not at ease
nor am I
quiet; I have no rest
for trouble comes.”
YLT
26I was not safe -- nor was I
quiet -- Nor was I at rest -- and trouble cometh!
I was not in safety
.... This
cannot refer to the time of his prosperity; for he certainly then was in
safety
God having set an hedge about him
so that none of his enemies
nor
even Satan himself
could come at him to hurt him:
neither had I rest
neither was I quiet; which also was
not true of him before his afflictions
for he did then enjoy great peace
rest
and quietness; he lay in his nest at ease
and in great tranquillity; and
thought and said he should die in such a state
see Job 29:18
&c.
nor is the sense of these expressions
that he did not take up his rest and
satisfaction in outward things
and put his trust and confidence in his riches
and yet trouble came upon him; but this relates to the time of the beginning of
his troubles and afflictions
from which time he was not in safety
nor had any
rest and peace; there was no intermission of his sorrows; but as soon as one
affliction was over
another came:
yet trouble came; still one after another
there was no end
of them; or
as Mr. Broughton renders it
"and now cometh a
vexation"; a fresh one
a suspicion of hypocrisy; and upon this turns the
whole controversy
managed and carried on between him and his friends in the
following part of this book.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)