About Job

Job explores the mystery of suffering through the story of a righteous man who lost everything yet maintained his faith in God.

Author: UnknownWritten: c. 2000-1800 BCReading time: ~3 minVerses: 26
SufferingSovereigntyFaithWisdomJusticeRestoration

King James Version

Job 3

26 verses with commentary

Job Curses the Day of His Birth

After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

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KJV Study Commentary

Job's curse upon his birthday marks the transition from patient endurance (1:21-22, 2:10) to raw lament. The Hebrew verb 'cursed' (qalal) intensifies the depth of Job's anguish - he wishes to un-create his own existence. This brutal honesty before God models faithful lament that doesn't minimize suffering.

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

**III.** (1) **After this opened Job his mouth.**—There is a striking similarity between this chapter and Jeremiah 20:14-18, so much so that one must be borrowed from the other; the question is, which is the original? Is Jeremiah the germ of this? or is this the tree from which a branch has been hewn by Jeremiah? Our own conviction is that Job is the original, inasmuch as this chapter is indispens...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 3 Chapter Outline Haman seeks to destroy the Jews.(1-6) He obtains a decree against the Jews.(7-15) **Verses 1-6** Mordecai refused to reverence Haman. The religion of a Jew forbade him to give honours to any mortal man which savoured of idolatry, especially to so wicked a man as Haman. By nature all are idolaters; self is our favourite idol, we are pleased to be treated ...
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And Job spake, and said, spake: Heb. answered

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KJV Study Commentary

Job's breaking silence after seven days marks the transition from patient endurance to honest lament. The phrase 'opened his mouth' (Hebrew 'patach peh') appears elsewhere at crucial moments of prophetic utterance (Ezekiel 3:27, 33:22). Job's speech isn't sin—the narrator never condemns it—but rather the outpouring of authentic human grief. Reformed theology affirms that lament is a legitimate res...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 3 Chapter Outline Haman seeks to destroy the Jews.(1-6) He obtains a decree against the Jews.(7-15) **Verses 1-6** Mordecai refused to reverence Haman. The religion of a Jew forbade him to give honours to any mortal man which savoured of idolatry, especially to so wicked a man as Haman. By nature all are idolaters; self is our favourite idol, we are pleased to be treated ...
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Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.

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KJV Study Commentary

Job curses both the day (yom) of his birth and the night (laylah) of his conception, wishing to erase his entire existence from the cosmic record. The parallel structure intensifies his desire for non-being. This echoes humanity's fallen condition where death seems preferable to suffering, yet faith persists in seeking answers from God.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 3 Chapter Outline Haman seeks to destroy the Jews.(1-6) He obtains a decree against the Jews.(7-15) **Verses 1-6** Mordecai refused to reverence Haman. The religion of a Jew forbade him to give honours to any mortal man which savoured of idolatry, especially to so wicked a man as Haman. By nature all are idolaters; self is our favourite idol, we are pleased to be treated ...
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Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

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KJV Study Commentary

Job curses the day of his birth, wishing it had been darkness rather than light. The Hebrew 'choshek' (darkness) contrasts with creation's first day when God separated light from darkness (Genesis 1:3-4). Job's wish for his birth day to retroactively become darkness reveals his desire for non-existence rather than continued suffering. This doesn't constitute suicide—Job never takes action against ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(4) **Regard.**—Literally, *require, ask for, and so manifest care about. *(Comp. Deuteronomy 11:12.)

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 3 Chapter Outline Haman seeks to destroy the Jews.(1-6) He obtains a decree against the Jews.(7-15) **Verses 1-6** Mordecai refused to reverence Haman. The religion of a Jew forbade him to give honours to any mortal man which savoured of idolatry, especially to so wicked a man as Haman. By nature all are idolaters; self is our favourite idol, we are pleased to be treated ...
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Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. stain: or, challenge let the: or, let them terrify it, as those who have a bitter day

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KJV Study Commentary

Job's poetic imagery intensifies: let darkness and the shadow of death ('tsalmaveth') claim his birth day. The phrase 'let a cloud dwell upon it' pictures darkness as an occupying force. The 'blackness of the day terrify it' uses Hebrew 'karar' (to dance/writhe), suggesting darkness itself would be convulsed with horror at that day. This hyperbolic language expresses how completely Job wishes his ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(5) **Stain.**—Literally, *redeem*—*i.e., *claim as their rightful inheritance. The other meaning enters into this word, as in Isaiah 63:3; Malachi 1:7. **Blackness of the day**—*i.e., *preternatural darkness, inopportune and unexpected darkness, like that of eclipses, &c.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 3 Chapter Outline Haman seeks to destroy the Jews.(1-6) He obtains a decree against the Jews.(7-15) **Verses 1-6** Mordecai refused to reverence Haman. The religion of a Jew forbade him to give honours to any mortal man which savoured of idolatry, especially to so wicked a man as Haman. By nature all are idolaters; self is our favourite idol, we are pleased to be treated ...
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As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. let it not be: or, let it not rejoice among the days

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KJV Study Commentary

Job wishes that darkness would seize the night of his conception, that it be excluded from the numbering of months and days. The Hebrew 'laqach' (seize/take) suggests violent possession—Job wants that night captured and removed from the calendar of time. This reflects the ancient understanding that conception, not birth, initiates human existence (Psalm 51:5). Job's wish extends beyond his birth t...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(6) **Let it not be joined.**—Rather, *let it not rejoice among, *as one of the glorious procession of nights.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 3 Chapter Outline Haman seeks to destroy the Jews.(1-6) He obtains a decree against the Jews.(7-15) **Verses 1-6** Mordecai refused to reverence Haman. The religion of a Jew forbade him to give honours to any mortal man which savoured of idolatry, especially to so wicked a man as Haman. By nature all are idolaters; self is our favourite idol, we are pleased to be treated ...
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Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.

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KJV Study Commentary

Job wishes his conception night had been 'solitary' (Hebrew 'galmud'—barren/sterile) with no joyful voice coming into it. Ancient conception was celebrated as divine blessing; Job wishes that night had been marked instead by barrenness and silence. This inverts the biblical pattern where barrenness brings shame and conception brings joy (Genesis 30:23). Job's suffering is so intense that he wishes...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 7-15** Without some acquaintance with the human heart, and the history of mankind, we should not think that any prince could consent to a dreadful proposal, so hurtful to himself. Let us be thankful for mild and just government. Haman inquires, according to his own superstitions, how to find a lucky day for the designed massacre! God's wisdom serves its own purposes by men's folly. Ha...
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Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. their: or, leviathan

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KJV Study Commentary

Job invokes those who curse days and are ready to 'raise up mourning' (or 'rouse leviathan'—Hebrew 'livyatan'). This may refer to professional cursers/magicians believed able to invoke chaos against days, or to mythological imagery of sea monsters representing cosmic disorder. Job's rhetoric reaches for the most powerful forces of curse and chaos to express his wish for non-existence, yet remains ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(8) **That curse the day**—i.e., Let those who proclaim days unlucky or accursed curse that day as pre-eminently so; or let them recollect that day as a standard or sample of cursing. “Let it be as cursed as Job’s birth day.” These people are further described as being ready to arouse leviathan (Authorised Version, “raise up their mourning”), or the crocodile—persons as mad and desperate as *that....
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 7-15** Without some acquaintance with the human heart, and the history of mankind, we should not think that any prince could consent to a dreadful proposal, so hurtful to himself. Let us be thankful for mild and just government. Haman inquires, according to his own superstitions, how to find a lucky day for the designed massacre! God's wisdom serves its own purposes by men's folly. Ha...
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Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: the dawning: Heb. the eyelids of the morning

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KJV Study Commentary

Job wishes that the stars of twilight on his conception night had remained dark, that it had looked for light in vain, and never seen the 'eyelids of the morning' (dawn's first rays). The poetic imagery of dawn's 'eyelids' personifies morning as awakening from sleep. Job wishes that night had been eternal, never giving way to the day that would mark his existence. This sustained metaphor of darkne...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(9) **The dawning . . .**—Literally, *the eyelids of the dawn.*

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 7-15** Without some acquaintance with the human heart, and the history of mankind, we should not think that any prince could consent to a dreadful proposal, so hurtful to himself. Let us be thankful for mild and just government. Haman inquires, according to his own superstitions, how to find a lucky day for the designed massacre! God's wisdom serves its own purposes by men's folly. Ha...
Read full commentary →

Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

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KJV Study Commentary

Job explains why he curses his conception night: 'Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.' The womb as having 'doors' that should have remained shut pictures conception as an entrance that should have been barred. Job wishes he had never been conceived so that he would have been spared his current suffering. This reflects the paradox of suffering: prese...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 7-15** Without some acquaintance with the human heart, and the history of mankind, we should not think that any prince could consent to a dreadful proposal, so hurtful to himself. Let us be thankful for mild and just government. Haman inquires, according to his own superstitions, how to find a lucky day for the designed massacre! God's wisdom serves its own purposes by men's folly. Ha...
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Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?

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KJV Study Commentary

Job's rhetorical questions 'Why died I not from the womb?' reveal the depth of his torment. The interrogative form demands answers from God while acknowledging there are none readily apparent. This tension between questioning and faith characterizes the entire book - honest doubt does not equal unbelief.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-19** Job complained of those present at his birth, for their tender attention to him. No creature comes into the world so helpless as man. God's power and providence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by God. To desire to die that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, is the effe...
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Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?

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KJV Study Commentary

Job wishes he had died at birth: 'Why did the knees receive me? or why the breasts that I should suck?' The 'knees' refers to the midwife or father receiving the newborn, while 'breasts' indicates nursing that sustains life. Job questions why these normal life-giving actions occurred—better to have died immediately than to live only to experience his current agony. This reflects how suffering can ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(12) **Prevent**—*i.e.*, “Why was I nursed with care instead of being allowed to fall to the ground and be killed?”

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-19** Job complained of those present at his birth, for their tender attention to him. No creature comes into the world so helpless as man. God's power and providence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by God. To desire to die that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, is the effe...
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For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

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KJV Study Commentary

Job imagines that had he died at birth, 'then should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest.' He pictures death as peaceful rest contrasting with his current agony. This reflects the Old Testament understanding of Sheol as a place of rest for the dead, though without the fuller New Testament revelation of resurrection and judgment. Job's desire for death's r...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-19** Job complained of those present at his birth, for their tender attention to him. No creature comes into the world so helpless as man. God's power and providence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by God. To desire to die that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, is the effe...
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With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;

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KJV Study Commentary

Job imagines himself at rest 'with kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves.' This likely refers to rulers who built great monuments and tombs that eventually fell to ruins. Even the mighty and wise find only empty monuments in death. Job's point is that death levels all distinctions—in the grave, the sufferer rests alongside kings. This reflects ancient wisdo...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(14) **Desolate places**—i.e., gorgeous tombs and splendid sepulchres, which, being tenanted only by the dead, are desolate; or it may mean that the places so built of old are now ruined and desolate. In the former sense it is possible that the Pyramids may here be hinted at.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-19** Job complained of those present at his birth, for their tender attention to him. No creature comes into the world so helpless as man. God's power and providence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by God. To desire to die that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, is the effe...
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Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:

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KJV Study Commentary

Job continues his meditation: in death he would rest with 'princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver.' The wealthy cannot take their riches beyond the grave (Psalm 49:16-17). Job's suffering has made him prefer the rest of death with its loss of all earthly treasures to continued life with its pain. This reflects how suffering reveals the relative unimportance of wealth—a truth th...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-19** Job complained of those present at his birth, for their tender attention to him. No creature comes into the world so helpless as man. God's power and providence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by God. To desire to die that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, is the effe...
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Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.

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KJV Study Commentary

Job wishes he had been 'as an hidden untimely birth'—a miscarriage buried without ceremony. The Hebrew 'nephel' (untimely birth/miscarriage) represents the ultimate obscurity—existence so brief it never achieves recognition. Job considers this preferable to his current suffering. The phrase 'as infants which never saw light' emphasizes that even momentary existence with subsequent suffering seems ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(16) **Untimely birth.**—Another condition which would have relieved him from the experience of suffering.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-19** Job complained of those present at his birth, for their tender attention to him. No creature comes into the world so helpless as man. God's power and providence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by God. To desire to die that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, is the effe...
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There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. weary: Heb. wearied in strength

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.</strong> Job describes death's respite with poignant beauty. The Hebrew verb <em>ragaz</em> (רָגַז, "troubling") means to rage, agitate, or cause tumult—the wicked no longer disturb the peace. The parallel clause "the weary be at rest" uses <em>yage'a</em> (יָגֵעַ, "weary") for those exhausted by life's toil, and <em>nu...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(17) **There**—i.e., in the grave, the place indicated, but not distinctly expressed.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-19** Job complained of those present at his birth, for their tender attention to him. No creature comes into the world so helpless as man. God's power and providence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by God. To desire to die that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, is the effe...
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There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.

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KJV Study Commentary

In death, 'the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.' Job pictures Sheol as a place where even prisoners find rest from their harsh taskmasters. The 'oppressor' (Hebrew 'nagas'—taskmaster/slave driver) cannot reach beyond death. This reflects how Job's suffering has made him feel imprisoned by pain, longing for the rest even prisoners find in death. It anticipates the ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(18) **The oppressor.**—As this is the word rendered *taskmaster *in Exodus, some have thought there may be an allusion to that history here.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-19** Job complained of those present at his birth, for their tender attention to him. No creature comes into the world so helpless as man. God's power and providence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by God. To desire to die that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, is the effe...
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The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.

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KJV Study Commentary

Job declares, 'The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.' Death abolishes all earthly hierarchies and distinctions. The slave finds freedom from his master not through rebellion or manumission but through death's great leveling. For Job, whose wealth and status have vanished, this equality in death seems preferable to continued life with its painful reversals of fortu...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 11-19** Job complained of those present at his birth, for their tender attention to him. No creature comes into the world so helpless as man. God's power and providence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by God. To desire to die that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, is the effe...
Read full commentary →

Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;

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KJV Study Commentary

Job asks, 'Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul?' 'Light' symbolizes life itself (Psalm 56:13); Job questions God's purpose in giving life to those whose experience is only suffering. The 'bitter in soul' (Hebrew 'mar nephesh') describes those whose inner being is filled with bitterness. This is theology's hardest question: Why does God sustain life t...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(20) **Wherefore is light given.**—Comp. the connection between life and light in Psalm 36:9 and John 1:4.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 20-26** Job was like a man who had lost his way, and had no prospect of escape, or hope of better times. But surely he was in an ill frame for death when so unwilling to live. Let it be our constant care to get ready for another world, and then leave it to God to order our removal thither as he thinks fit. Grace teaches us in the midst of life's greatest comforts, to be willing to die...
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Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; long: Heb. wait

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KJV Study Commentary

Job describes those who 'long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures.' The imagery of digging for death as for treasure inverts normal values—usually people seek life and treasure; the sufferer seeks death. The Hebrew 'chakah' (long for/wait) suggests sustained anticipation. Job expresses the paradox that despite desiring death, he cannot achieve it—God sustains h...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 20-26** Job was like a man who had lost his way, and had no prospect of escape, or hope of better times. But surely he was in an ill frame for death when so unwilling to live. Let it be our constant care to get ready for another world, and then leave it to God to order our removal thither as he thinks fit. Grace teaches us in the midst of life's greatest comforts, to be willing to die...
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Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?

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KJV Study Commentary

Job describes the bitter paradox: sufferers 'rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave.' The Hebrew 'sus' (rejoice exceedingly) and 'samach' (are glad) are normally used for positive celebrations—weddings, victories, deliverances. Job inverts this language: finding the grave becomes the occasion for celebration. This reflects how intense suffering can completely reverse norma...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 20-26** Job was like a man who had lost his way, and had no prospect of escape, or hope of better times. But surely he was in an ill frame for death when so unwilling to live. Let it be our constant care to get ready for another world, and then leave it to God to order our removal thither as he thinks fit. Grace teaches us in the midst of life's greatest comforts, to be willing to die...
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Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?

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KJV Study Commentary

Job describes himself as one 'whose way is hid' and whom 'God hath hedged in.' The imagery of God's hedge appears earlier as protection (1:10), but now Job experiences it as confinement. This paradox captures the mystery of divine providence - the same God who protects can also perplex.

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(23) **Hedged in.**—The same expression was used in an opposite sense in Job 1:10.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 20-26** Job was like a man who had lost his way, and had no prospect of escape, or hope of better times. But surely he was in an ill frame for death when so unwilling to live. Let it be our constant care to get ready for another world, and then leave it to God to order our removal thither as he thinks fit. Grace teaches us in the midst of life's greatest comforts, to be willing to die...
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For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. I eat: Heb. my meat

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KJV Study Commentary

Job says, 'For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.' Sighing precedes eating—normally hunger precedes eating—showing how suffering dominates even basic needs. The 'roarings' (Hebrew 'shaag,' used of lions) poured out like water suggest uncontrollable, overwhelming expressions of anguish. Job's suffering isn't quiet or dignified but loud and constant, like...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**70. And some of the chief of the fathers, &amp;c.--**With Ne 7:69 the register ends, and the thread of Nehemiah's history is resumed. He was the tirshatha, or governor, and the liberality displayed by him and some of the leading men for the suitable equipment of the ministers of religion, forms the subject of the remaining portion of the chapter. Their donations consisted principally in garments...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 20-26** Job was like a man who had lost his way, and had no prospect of escape, or hope of better times. But surely he was in an ill frame for death when so unwilling to live. Let it be our constant care to get ready for another world, and then leave it to God to order our removal thither as he thinks fit. Grace teaches us in the midst of life's greatest comforts, to be willing to die...
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For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. the thing: Heb. I feared a fear, and it came upon me

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KJV Study Commentary

Job confesses, 'For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.' This reveals that even in prosperity, Job lived with some level of fear about potential loss. The Hebrew 'pachad' (feared/dreaded) suggests not mere worry but deep foreboding. This raises questions about the relationship between fear and faith, and whether Job's fear was prescient...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(25) **For the thing which I greatly feared . . .**—Comp. Proverbs 28:14. It means that he had always had in remembrance the uncertainty and instability of earthly things, an yet he had been overtaken by a calamity that mocked his carefulness and exceeded his apprehensions. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission. Bible Hub

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**71. pound of silver--**that is, mina (sixty shekels, or £9).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 20-26** Job was like a man who had lost his way, and had no prospect of escape, or hope of better times. But surely he was in an ill frame for death when so unwilling to live. Let it be our constant care to get ready for another world, and then leave it to God to order our removal thither as he thinks fit. Grace teaches us in the midst of life's greatest comforts, to be willing to die...
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I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

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KJV Study Commentary

Job concludes, 'I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.' Even before his calamities, Job lacked peace—suggesting either prescient unease or ongoing spiritual struggle. The three negatives (no safety, no rest, no quiet) build toward the climax: 'yet trouble came' anyway. The Hebrew 'rogez' (trouble/turmoil) suggests violent agitation. Job's admission reveals ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 20-26** Job was like a man who had lost his way, and had no prospect of escape, or hope of better times. But surely he was in an ill frame for death when so unwilling to live. Let it be our constant care to get ready for another world, and then leave it to God to order our removal thither as he thinks fit. Grace teaches us in the midst of life's greatest comforts, to be willing to die...
Read full commentary →

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