Job 3:5

Job 3:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
• New International Version (NIV)May gloom and utter darkness claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm it.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)May darkness and the shadow of death claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the day terrify it.

Context of Job 3:5

3“Let the day on which I was born perish, And the night which announced: ‘There is a man-child conceived.’ 4May that day be darkness; Let God above not care about it, Nor light shine on it. Let darkness and gloom claim it for their own; Let a cloud settle upon it; Let all that blackens the day terrify it (the day that I was born). 6As for that night, let darkness seize it; Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; Let it not be counted in the number of the months. 7Behold, let that night be barren [and empty]; Let no joyful voice enter it.

Job 3:5 word by word

יִגְאָלֻ֡הוּ חֹ֣שֶׁךְ וְ֭צַלְמָוֶת תִּשְׁכָּן־עָלָ֣יו עֲנָנָ֑ה יְ֝בַעֲתֻ֗הוּ כִּֽמְרִ֥ירֵי יֽוֹם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Let darknessחֹ֫שֶׁךְchôshek · darknessH2822
• and the shadow of deathצַלְמָ֫וֶתtsalmâveth · shadowH6757
• stainגָּאַלgâ'al · to redeem: redeemH1350
• it; let a cloudעֲנָנָה‛ănânâh · cloudH6053
• dwellשָׁכַןshâkan · to dwellH7931
• upon it; let the blacknessכִּמְרִירkimrîyr · darknessH3650
• of the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• terrifyבָּעַתbâ‛ath · to terrifyH1204

Cross-references for Job 3:5

• Job 10:21Before I go—and I shall not return— To the land of darkness and the deep shadow [of death],
• Job 16:16My face is red and swollen with weeping, And on my eyelids is the shadow of death [my eyes are dimmed],
• Job 24:17For the morning is the same to him as the thick darkness [of midnight]; For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.
• Job 28:3Man puts an end to darkness [by bringing in a light], And to the farthest bounds he searches out The rock buried in gloom and deep shadow.
• Job 38:17Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
• Psalms 23:4Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.
• Psalms 44:19Yet You have [distressingly] crushed us in the place of jackals And covered us with [the deep darkness of] the shadow of death.
• Psalms 107:10Some dwelt in darkness and in the deep (deathly) darkness, Prisoners [bound] in misery and chains,
• Isaiah 9:2The people who walk in [spiritual] darkness Will see a great Light; Those who live in the dark land, The Light will shine on them.
• Jeremiah 2:6They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord Who brought us up from the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and of pits, Through a land of drought and of the deep darkness [of the shadow of death], Through a land that no man passed through And where no man lived?’
• Jeremiah 13:16Give glory to the Lord your God, Before He brings darkness And before your feet stumble On the dark and shadowy mountains, And while you are longing for light He turns it into the shadow of death, And makes it into thick darkness.
• Amos 5:8He who made the [cluster of stars called] Pleiades and [the constellation] Orion, Who turns deep darkness into the morning And darkens the day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the surface of the earth, The Lord is His name.
• Matthew 4:16The people who were sitting (living) in [spiritual] darkness have seen a great Light, And for those who were sitting (living) in the land and shadow of [spiritual and moral] death, Upon them a Light has dawned.”
• Luke 1:79To shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, To guide our feet [in a straight line] into the way of peace and serenity.”
• Deuteronomy 4:11You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the [very] heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud and thick gloom.
• Ezekiel 30:3For the day is near, Even the day of the Lord is near, It will be a cloudy day; A time of doom for the nations.

Commentaries on Job 3:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it - יגאלהו yigaluhu, "pollute or avenge it," from גאל gaal, to vindicate, avenge, etc.; hence גאל goel, the nearest of kin, whose right it was to redeem an inheritance, and avenge the death of his relative by slaying the murderer. Let this day be pursued, overtaken, and destroyed. Let natural darkness, the total privation of the solar light, rendered still more intense by death's shadow projected over it, seize…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Let darkness and the shadow of death - The Hebrew word צלמות tsalmâveth is exceedingly musical and poetical. It is derived from צל tsêl “a shadow,” and מות mâveth “death;” and is used to denote the deepest darkness; see the notes at Isaiah 9:2. It occurs frequently in the sacred Scriptures; compare Job 10:21-22; Psalm 23:4; Job 12:22; Job 16:16; Job 24:17; Job 34:22; Job 38:17; Amos 5:8; Jeremiah 2:6. It is used to denote the abode of departed spirits…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Job wished that the darkness of the place of the dead and the gloom of death had not allowed him to be born (Exodus 10:22; Proverbs 4:19; Joel 2:2; Job 10:21–22; 38:17).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. Let ... the shadow of death--("deepest darkness," Is 9:2). stain it--This is a later sense of the verb [Gesenius]; better the old and more poetic idea, "Let darkness (the ancient night of chaotic gloom) resume its rights over light (Ge 1:2), and claim that day as its own." a cloud--collectively, a gathered mass of dark clouds. the blackness of the day terrify it--literally, "the obscurations"; whatever darkens the day [Gesenius]. The verb in Hebrew…Read the comment

Topics related to Job 3:5

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Colors
• Despondency
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• Shadow of Death
• Above
• Dig
• Poetry
• Roaring
• Safety
• Solitary
• Blackness
• Color; Colors
• Dark; Darkness

Commentaries on Job 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings