Teks -- Job 3:18-26 (NET)

3:18 There the prisoners relax together; they do not hear the voice of the oppressor. 3:19 Small and great are there, and the slave is free from his master.

Longing for Death

3:20 “Why does God give light to one who is in misery, and life to those whose soul is bitter, 3:21 to those who wait for death that does not come, and search for it more than for hidden treasures, 3:22 who rejoice even to jubilation, and are exultant when they find the grave? 3:23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in? 3:24 For my sighing comes in place of my food, and my groanings flow forth like water. 3:25 For the very thing I dreaded has happened to me, and what I feared has come upon me. 3:26 I have no ease, I have no quietness; I cannot rest; turmoil has come upon me.”

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Job 3:18 - The oppressor

Or, taskmaster, who urges and forces them to work by cruel threatenings and stripes. Job meddles not here with their eternal state after death, of which he speaks hereafter, but only their freedom from worldly troubles, which is the sole matter of his present discourse.

Wesley: Job 3:19 - Small and great

Persons of all qualities and conditions.

Wesley: Job 3:19 - Are there

In the same place and state, all those distinctions being forever abolished. A good reason, why those who have power should use it moderately, and those that are in subjection should take it patiently.

Wesley: Job 3:20 - Light

The light of life.

Wesley: Job 3:20 - Bitter

Unto those to whom life itself is bitter and burdensome. Life is called light, because it is pleasant and serviceable for walking and working; and this light is said to be given us, because it would be lost, if it were not daily renewed to us by a fresh gift.

Wesley: Job 3:21 - Dig

Desire with as much earnestness as men dig for treasure: but it is observable, Job durst not do anything to hasten or procure his death: notwithstanding all his miseries, he was contented to wait all the days of his appointed time, 'till his change came, Job 14:14.

Wesley: Job 3:22 - Glad, &c.

_To be thus impatient of life, for the sake of the trouble we meet with, is not only unnatural in itself, but ungrateful to the giver of life, and shews a sinful indulgence of our own passion. Let it be our great and constant care, to get ready for another world: and then let us leave it to God, to order the circumstances of our removal thither.

Wesley: Job 3:23 - Hid

From him; who knows not his way, which way to turn himself, what course to take to comfort himself in his miseries.

Wesley: Job 3:23 - Hedged in

Whom God hath put as it were in a prison, so that he can see no way or possibility of escape.

Wesley: Job 3:24 - Before, &c.

_Heb. before the face of my bread, all the time I am eating, I fall into sighing and weeping, because I am obliged to eat, and to support this wretched life, and because of my uninterrupted pains of body and of mind, which do not afford me one quiet moment.

Wesley: Job 3:24 - Roarings

My loud outcries, more befitting a lion than a man.

Wesley: Job 3:24 - Poured out

With great abundance, and irresistible violence, and incessant continuance, as waters flow in a river, or as they break the banks, and overflow the ground.

Wesley: Job 3:25 - Feared

Even in the time of my prosperity, I was full of fears, considering the variety of God's providences, the changeableness of this vain world, God's justice, and the sinfulness of all mankind. And these fears of mine, were not in vain, but are justified by my present calamities.

Wesley: Job 3:26 - Quiet

I did not misbehave myself in prosperity, abusing it by presumption, and security, but I lived circumspectly, walking humbly with God, and working out my salvation with fear and trembling. Therefore in this sense also, his way was hid, he knew not why God contended with him.

JFB: Job 3:18 - There the prisoners rest

From their chains.

JFB: Job 3:19 - servant

The slave is there manumitted from slavery.

JFB: Job 3:20 - Wherefore giveth he light

Namely, God; often omitted reverentially (Job 24:23; Ecc 9:9). Light, that is, life. The joyful light ill suits the mourners. The grave is most in unison with their feelings.

JFB: Job 3:23 - whose way is hid

The picture of Job is drawn from a wanderer who has lost his way, and who is hedged in, so as to have no exit of escape (Hos 2:6; Lam 3:7, Lam 3:9).

JFB: Job 3:24 - my sighing cometh before I eat

That is, prevents my eating [UMBREIT]; or, conscious that the effort to eat brought on the disease, Job must sigh before eating [ROSENMULLER]; or, sighing takes the place of good (Psa 42:3) [GOOD]. But the first explanation accords best with the text.

JFB: Job 3:24 - my roarings are poured out like the waters

An image from the rushing sound of water streaming.

JFB: Job 3:25 - the thing which I . . . feared is come upon me

In the beginning of his trials, when he heard of the loss of one blessing, he feared the loss of another; and when he heard of the loss of that, he feared the loss of a third.

JFB: Job 3:25 - that which I was afraid of is come unto me

Namely, the ill opinion of his friends, as though he were a hypocrite on account of his trials.

JFB: Job 3:26 - I was not in safety . . . yet trouble came

Referring, not to his former state, but to the beginning of his troubles. From that time I had no rest, there was no intermission of sorrows. "And" (not, "yet") a fresh trouble is coming, namely, my friends' suspicion of my being a hypocrite. This gives the starting-point to the whole ensuing controversy.

Clarke: Job 3:18 - The prisoners rest together

The prisoners rest together - Those who were slaves, feeling all the troubles, and scarcely tasting any of the pleasures of life, are quiet in the grave together; and the voice of the oppressor, the hard, unrelenting task-master, which was more terrible than death, is heard no more. They are free from his exactions, and his mouth is silent in the dust. This may be a reference to the Egyptian bondage. The children of Israel cried by reason of their oppressors or task-masters.

Clarke: Job 3:19 - The small and great are there

The small and great are there - All sorts and conditions of men are equally blended in the grave, and ultimately reduced to one common dust; and between the bond and free there is no difference. The grave i

"The appointed place of rendezvous, where all These travelers meet.

Equality is absolute among the sons of men in their entrance into and exit from the world: all the intermediate state is disparity. All men begin and end life alike; and there is no difference between the king and the cottager

A contemplation of this should equally humble the great and the small

The saying is trite, but it is true: -

Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas

Regumque turres

Hor. Odar. lib. i., Od. iv., ver. 13

"With equal pace impartial Fat

Knocks at the palace as the cottage gate.

Death is that state,
"Where they an equal honor share
Who buried or unburied are.
Where Agamemnon knows no more
Than Irus he contemn’ d before.
Where fair Achilles and Thersites lie,
Equally naked, poor, and dry.

And why do not the living lay these things to heart

There is a fine saying in Seneca ad Marciam, cap. 20, on this subject, which may serve as a comment on this place: Mors-servitutem invito domino remittit; haec captivorum catenas levat; haec e carcere eduxit, quos exire imperium impotens vetuerat. Haec est in quo nemo humilitatem suam sensit; haec quae nulli paruit; haec quae nihil quicquam alieno fecit arbitrio. Haec, ubi res communes fortuna male divisit, et aequo jure genitos alium alii donavit, exaequat omnia . - "Death, in spite of the master, manumits the slave. It loosens the chains of the prisoners. It brings out of the dungeon those whom impotent authority had forbidden to go at large. This is the state in which none is sensible of his humiliation. Death obeys no man. It does nothing according to the will of another. It reduces, by a just law, to a state of equality, all who in their families and circumstances had unequal lots in life."

Clarke: Job 3:20 - Wherefore is light given

Wherefore is light given - Why is life granted to him who is incapable of enjoying it, or of performing its functions?

Clarke: Job 3:21 - Which long for death

Which long for death - They look to it as the end of all their miseries; and long more for a separation from life, than those who love gold do for a rich mine.

Clarke: Job 3:22 - Which rejoice exceedingly

Which rejoice exceedingly - Literally, They rejoice with joy, and exult when they find the grave. There is a various reading here in one of Kennicott’ s MSS., which gives a different sense. Instead of who rejoice, אלי גיל eley gil , with Joy, it has אלי גל eley gal , who rejoice at the Tomb, and exult when they find the grave.

Clarke: Job 3:23 - To a man whose way is hid

To a man whose way is hid - Who knows not what is before him in either world, but is full of fears and trembling concerning both

Clarke: Job 3:23 - God hath hedged in?

God hath hedged in? - Leaving him no way to escape; and not permitting him to see one step before him. There is an exact parallel to this passage in Lam 3:7, Lam 3:9 : He hath hedged me about that I cannot get out. He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone. Mr. Good translates the verse thus: To the man whose path is broken up, and whose futurity God hath overwhelmed. But I cannot see any necessity for departing from the common text, which gives both an easy and a natural sense.

Clarke: Job 3:24 - For my sighing cometh

For my sighing cometh - Some think that this refers to the ulcerated state of Job’ s body, mouth, hands, etc. He longed for food, but was not able to lift it to his mouth with his hands, nor masticate it when brought thither. This is the sense in which Origen has taken the words. But perhaps it is most natural to suppose that he means his sighing took away all appetite, and served him in place of meat. There is the same thought in Psa 42:3 : My tears have been my meat day and night; which place is not an imitation of Job, but more likely Job an imitation of it, or, rather, both an imitation of nature

Clarke: Job 3:24 - My roarings are poured out

My roarings are poured out - My lamentations are like the noise of the murmuring stream, or the dashings of the overswollen torrent.

Clarke: Job 3:25 - For the thing which I greatly reared

For the thing which I greatly reared - Literally, the fear that I feared; or, I feared a fear, as in the margin. While I was in prosperity I thought adversity might come, and I had a dread of it. I feared the loss of my family and my property; and both have occurred. I was not lifted up: I knew that what I possessed I had from Divine Providence, and that he who gave might take away. I am not stripped of my all as a punishment for my self-confidence.

Clarke: Job 3:26 - I was not in safety

I was not in safety - If this verse be read interrogatively, it will give a good and easy sense: Was I not in safety? Had I not rest? Was I not in comfort? Yet trouble came. It is well known that, previously to this attack of Satan, Job was in great prosperity and peace. Mr. Good translates, I had no peace; yea, I had no rest. Yea, I had no respite, as the trouble came on; and refers the whole to the quick succession of the series of heavy evils by which he was tried. There is a similar thought in the Psalmist: Deep crieth unto deep at the noise of thy water-spouts; all thy waves and thy billows have gone over me; Psa 42:7. One evil treads on the heels of another

In this chapter Job’ s conflict begins. Now, and not before, Satan appears to have access to his mind. When he deprived him of his property, and, what was still dearer, of his sons and his daughters, the hope of his family, he bore all with the most exemplary patience, and the deepest resignation to the Divine will. When his adversary was permitted to touch his body, and afflict it in the most grievous and distressing manner, rendered still more intolerable by his being previously deprived of all the comforts and necessaries of life; still he held fast his integrity; no complaint, no murmur was heard. From the Lord’ s hand he received his temporal good; and from that hand he received his temporal evil, the privation of that good. Satan was, therefore, baffled in all his attempts; Job continued to be a perfect and upright man, fearing God, and avoiding evil. This was Job’ s triumph, or rather the triumph of Divine grace; and Satan’ s defeat and confusion

It is indeed very seldom that God permits Satan to waste the substance or afflict the body of any man; but at all times this malevolent spirit may have access to the mind of any man, and inject doubts, fears, diffidence, perplexities, and even unbelief. And here is the spiritual conflict. Now, their wrestling is not with flesh and blood - with men like themselves, nor about secular affairs; but they have to contend with angels, principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickednesses in heavenly places. In such cases Satan is often permitted to diffuse darkness into the understanding, and envelope the heavens with clouds. Hence are engendered false views of God and his providence, of men, of the spiritual world, and particularly of the person’ s own state and circumstances. Every thing is distorted, and all seen through a false medium. Indescribable distractions and uneasiness are hereby induced; the mind is like a troubled sea, tossed by a tempest that seems to confound both heaven and earth. Strong temptations to things which the soul contemplates with abhorrence are injected; and which are followed by immediate accusations, as if the injections were the offspring of the heart itself; and the trouble and dismay produced are represented as the sense of guilt, from a consciousness of having, in heart, committed these evils. Thus Satan tempts, accuses, and upbraids, in order to perplex the soul, induce skepticism, and destroy the empire of faith. Behold here the permission of God, and behold also his sovereign control: all this time the grand tempter is not permitted to touch the heart, the seat of the affections, nor offer even the slightest violence to the will. The soul is cast down, but not destroyed; perplexed, but not in despair. It is on all sides harassed; without are fightings, within are fears: but the will is inflexible on the side of God and truth, and the heart, with all its train of affections and passions, follows it. The man does not wickedly depart from his God; the outworks are violently assailed, but not taken; the city is still safe, and the citadel impregnable. Heaviness may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning. Jesus is soon seen walking upon the waters. He speaks peace to the winds and the sea: immediately there is a calm. Satan is bruised down under the feet of the sufferer, the clouds are dispersed, the heavens re-appear, and the soul, to its surprise, finds that the storm, instead of hindering, has driven it nearer to the haven whither it would be

The reader who closely examines the subject will find that this was the case of Job. The following chapters show the conflict of the soul; the end of the book, God’ s victory and his exaltation. Satan sifted Job as wheat, but his faith failed not.

Defender: Job 3:25 - greatly feared

Job confesses that, even during his former days of prosperity and esteem, he had realized that things could change. God may bless a righteous man with prosperity, but it is all of grace. No man - not even righteous Job - deserves God's favor, for "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). Job realized he was innately a sinner, and offered sacrifices to cover his sins, as God had instructed, but he still realized God had every right to withhold His blessings."

TSK: Job 3:18 - they

they : Job 39:7; Exo 5:6-8, Exo 5:15-19; Jdg 4:3; Isa 14:3, Isa 14:4

TSK: Job 3:19 - The small // and the servant

The small : Job 30:23; Psa 49:2, Psa 49:6-10; Ecc 8:8, Ecc 12:5, Ecc 12:7; Luk 16:22, Luk 16:23; Heb 9:27

and the servant : Psa 49:14-20

TSK: Job 3:20 - Wherefore // light // the bitter

Wherefore : Job 6:9, Job 7:15, Job 7:16; Jer 20:18

light : Job 3:16, Job 33:28, Job 33:30

the bitter : Job 7:15, Job 7:16; 1Sa 1:10; 2Ki 4:27; Pro 31:6

TSK: Job 3:21 - long // dig

long : Heb. wait, Num 11:15; 1Ki 19:4; Jon 4:3, Jon 4:8; Rev 9:6

dig : Pro 2:4

TSK: Job 3:23 - whose way // hedged in

whose way : Isa 40:27

hedged in : Job 12:14, Job 19:8; Psa 31:8; Lam 3:7, Lam 3:9; Hos 2:6

TSK: Job 3:24 - my sighing // I eat // my roarings

my sighing : Job 7:19; Psa 80:5, Psa 102:9

I eat : Heb. my meat

my roarings : Psa 22:1, Psa 22:2, Psa 32:3, Psa 38:8; Isa 59:11; Lam 3:8

TSK: Job 3:25 - the thing

the thing : etc. Heb. I feared a fear and it came upon me, that which Job 1:5, Job 31:23

TSK: Job 3:26 - yet trouble came

yet trouble came : Job 27:9; Psa 143:11

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Job 3:18 - The prisoners rest together // in like manner // The oppressor

The prisoners rest together i.e. one as well as another; they who were kept in the strongest chains and closest prisons, and condemned to the most hard and miserable slavery, rest as well as those who were captives in much better circumstances. Or,

in like manner ( as this word oft signifies,) as those oppressors and oppressed do.

The oppressor or, exacter, or taskmaster , who urgeth and forceth them by cruel threatenings and stripes to greater diligence in the works to which they are condemned. See Exo 3:7 5:6,10,13 . Job meddles not here with their eternal state after death, or the sentence and judgment of God against wicked men, of which he speaks hereafter; but only speaks of their freedom from worldly troubles, which is the only matter of his complaint and present discourse.

Poole: Job 3:19 - The small and great // Are there

The small and great i.e. persons of all qualifies and conditions, whether higher or lower.

Are there in the same place and state, all those kinds of distinctions and differences being for ever abolished.

Poole: Job 3:20 - Unto the bitter in soul

Heb. Wherefore (for what cause, or use, or good) doth he (i.e. God, though he forbear to name him, out of that holy fear and reverence which still he retained towards him) give light? either the light of the sun, which the living only behold, Ecc 6:5 7:11 ; or the light of life, as may seem both by the next words, and by comparing Psa 56:13 , and because death is off set forth by the name of darkness, as life by the name of light. These are strong expostulations with God, and quarrelling with his providence and with his blessings; but we must consider that Job was but a man, and a man of like passions and infirmities with other men, and now in grievous agonies, being not only under most violent, and yet continual, torments of body, but also under great disquietments of mind, and the deep sense of God’ s displeasure, and was also left to himself, that he might see what was in his heart, and that all succeeding ages might have in him an illustrious example of man’ s infirmity, and the necessity of God’ s grace to help them in time of need. And therefore it is no wonder if his passions boil up and break forth in same indecent and sinful expressions.

Unto the bitter in soul unto such to whom life itself is very bitter and burdensome. Why doth he obtrude his favours upon those who abhor them?

Poole: Job 3:21

i.e. Desire and pray for it with as much earnestness as men dig for treasure. But it is observable that Job durst not lay violent hands upon himself, nor do any thing to hasten or procure his death; but notwithstanding all his miseries and complaints, he was contented to wait all the days of his appointed time, till his change came , Job 14:14 .

Poole: Job 3:23 - Why is light given? // Whose way is hid // Whom God hath hedged in

Why is light given? these words are conveniently supplied out of Job 1:20 , where they are, all the following words hitherto being joined in construction and sense with them.

Whose way is hid to wit, from him who knows not his way , i.e. which way to turn himself, what course to take to comfort himself in his miseries, or to get out of them; what method to use to please and reconcile that God who is so angry with him, seeing his sincere and exact piety, to which God is witness, doth not satisfy him; or what the end of these calamities will be.

Whom God hath hedged in not with a hedge of defence, like that Job 1:10 , but of offence and restraint, i.e. whom God hath put as it were in prison or pound, or like cattle in grounds enclosed with a high and strong hedge, over or through which they cannot get; so that he can see no way nor possibility to escape, but all refuge fails him.

Poole: Job 3:24 - Before I eat // My roarings // Like the waters

Before I eat Heb. before the face of my bread , i.e. either when I am going to eat, or rather, all the time whilst I am eating, (for so this phrase is used Psa 72:5 , before the face of the sun , &c.; that is, as we translate it, as long as the sun endureth ,) I fall into bitter passions of sighing and weeping; partly because my necessity and duty obligeth me to eat, and so to support this wretched life, which I long to lose; and principally because of my uninterrupted pains of body, and horrors of my mind, which mix themselves with my very meat, and do not afford me one quiet moment. Compare Psa 102:9 .

My roarings i.e. my loud outcries, more befitting a lion than a man, which yet extremity of grief forceth from me. Compare Psa 22:1 32:3 .

Like the waters i.e. with great abundance, and irresistible violence, and incessant continuance, as waters flow in a river, or when they break the banks, and overflow the ground.

Poole: Job 3:25 - The thing which I greatly feared is come upon me

This is another reason why he is weary of his life, and why he repents that ever he was born, because he never enjoyed any solid and secure comfort.

The thing which I greatly feared is come upon me . Heb. I feared a fear , (i.e. a danger or mischief in one kind or other, the act being here put for the object, as joy and love are oft put for the things rejoiced in, or loved, and here fear for the thing feared. Or, I feared with fear , i.e. I feared greatly ,) and it came . Even in the time of my peace and prosperity I was full of fears, considering the variety of God’ s providences, the course and changeableness of this vain world, the infirmities and contingencies of human nature and life, God’ s justice, and the sinfulness of all mankind. And these fears of mine were not vain, but are justified by my present calamities. So that I have never enjoyed any sound tranquillity since I was born; and therefore it hath not been worth my while to live, since all my days have been evil, and full of vexation and torment, either by the fear of miseries, or by the sufferance of them.

Poole: Job 3:26 - Yet trouble came

The three expressions note the same thing, which also was signified in the next foregoing verse, to wit, that even in his prosperous days he never was secure or at rest from the torment of fear and anxiety. Others, I did not misbehave myself in prosperity, abusing it by presumption, and security, and voluptuousness, whereby I might have provoked God thus to afflict me; but I lived soberly and circumspectly, walking humbly with God, and working out my salvation with fear and trembling, little expecting that God would be so fierce an enemy against me.

Yet trouble came Heb. and trouble came , as I feared it would. So between fear and calamity my whole life hath been miserable, and I had reason to repent of it.

Haydock: Job 3:18 - Bound

Bound in chains, like incorrigible slaves, (Calmet) or debtors. (Cocceius.) ---

These were formerly treated with great severity, Luke xii. 59. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 3:21 - Not

Not. The feel the same eagerness for death as those who seek for a treasure; (Calmet) and when death is at hand, they rejoice no less than those who discover a grave, in which they hope to find some riches, ver. 15, 22.

Haydock: Job 3:22 - Grave

Grave, full of stores, or the place where they may repose. (Haydock)

Haydock: Job 3:23 - To

To. Why is life given to? &c. The uncertainty whether a man be worthy of love or hatred, (Ecclesiastes ix. 1.) and whether he will persevere to the end, is what fills Job with distress; though we must trust that God will suffer none to be tempted above their strength, 1 Corinthians x. 13. ---

He finds himself surrounded with precipices, and in the dark. (Calmet) ---

So God often tries this faithful servants. (Du Hamel)

Haydock: Job 3:24 - Sigh

Sigh, through difficulty of swallowing, (Pineda) or sense of misery. (Haydock)

Haydock: Job 3:25 - Fear

Fear. In prosperity he feared the assaults of pride. Now he is in danger of yielding to impatience and despair. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 3:26 - Dissembled

Dissembled my sufferings, making no complaint, not only during the seven days that his friends had been with him, but long before. Hebrew and Septuagint, "I was not in safety, nor at rest; neither was I indolent: (Haydock; in the administration of affairs. Calmet) yet trouble came." (Haydock) ---

I have enjoyed no peace, since the wrath of the Lord has found me. (Calmet) ---

In such a situation, Job might well beg to be delivered, (Haydock) and to pray that those things which obstructed his repose in God might be removed; considering them not so much as the works of God, as the effects of sin. (Pineda) (Worthington) ---

In this light he cursed his birth-day, and will no longer look upon it as a joyful and happy day. (Du Hamel)

Gill: Job 3:18 - There the prisoners rest together // they hear not the voice of the oppressor

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" ^x; 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, Exo 5:11; but, in the grave, the blustering, terrifying, voice of such, is not heard.

Gill: Job 3:19 - The small and great are there // and the servant is free from his master

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 distinction ^y "little and great are there all one"; as Mr. Broughton renders the words, see Rev 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, Rom 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.

Gill: Job 3:20 - Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery // and life unto the bitter in 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?" ^y that is, God, as some ^z 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.

Gill: Job 3:21 - Which long for death, but it cometh not // and dig for it more than for 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 some ^a 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 Rev 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 Pro 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" ^b; 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.

Gill: Job 3:22 - Which rejoice exceedingly // and are glad when they can find the grave

Which rejoice exceedingly,.... Or, "which joy till they do skip again", as Mr. Broughton renders it, and to the same purport others ^d; 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 Josephus ^e 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.

Gill: Job 3:23 - Why is light given to a man whose way is hid // and whom God hath hedged in

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, Isa 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, Psa 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 Lam 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 word ^e signifies, a man strong, hale, and robust; "whose way is hid", or "covered" ^f; 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, Psa 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.

Gill: Job 3:24 - For my sighing cometh before I eat // and my roarings are poured out like the waters

For my sighing cometh before I eat,.... Or, "before my bread", or "food" ^g; 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.

Gill: Job 3:25 - For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me // and that which I was afraid of is come unto 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.

Gill: Job 3:26 - I was not in safety // neither had I rest, neither was I quiet // yet trouble came

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.