Job 3:4

Job 3:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.
• New International Version (NIV)That day—may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine on it.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it.

Context of Job 3:4

2And this is what he said: 3“May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above disregard it; may no light shine upon it. 5May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it; may the blackness of the day overwhelm it. 6If only darkness had taken that night away! May it not appear among the days of the year; may it never be entered in any of the months.

Job 3:4 word by word

הַיּ֥וֹם הַה֗וּא יְֽהִ֫י חֹ֥שֶׁךְ אַֽל־יִדְרְשֵׁ֣הוּ אֱל֣וֹהַּ מִמָּ֑עַל וְאַל־תּוֹפַ֖ע עָלָ֣יו נְהָרָֽה׃Read the interlinear

• If only thatהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
• dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• had turnedהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• to darknessחֹ֫שֶׁךְchôshek · darknessH2822
• May Godאֱלֹהַּ'ĕlôahh 'ĕlôahh · godH433
• aboveמַ֫עַלma‛al · aboveH4605
• aboveאַל'al · notH408
• disregard itדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
• lightנְהָרָהnehârâh · lightH5105
• shineיָפַעyâpha‛ · to shineH3313
• upon itעַל‛al · uponH5921

Cross-references for Job 3:4

• Exodus 10:22So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and total darkness covered all the land of Egypt for three days.
• Joel 2:2a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like the dawn overspreading the mountains a great and strong army appears, such as never was of old, nor will ever be in ages to come.
• Amos 5:18Woe to you who long for the Day of the LORD! What will the Day of the LORD be for you? It will be darkness and not light.
• Matthew 27:45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.
• Acts 27:20When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the great storm continued to batter us, we abandoned all hope of being saved.
• Revelation 16:10And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and men began to gnaw their tongues in anguish
• Deuteronomy 11:12It is a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning to the end of the year.

Commentaries on Job 3:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Let that day be darkness - The meaning is exactly the same with our expression, "Let it be blotted out of the calendar." However distinguished it may have been, as the birthday of a man once celebrated for his possessions, liberality, and piety, let it no longer be thus noted; as he who was thus celebrated is now the sport of adversity, the most impoverished, most afflicted, and most wretched of human beings. Let not God regard it from above - ידרשהו אל…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Let that day be darkness - Let it not be day; or, O, that it had not been day, that the sun had not risen, and that it had been night. Let not God regard it from above - The word rendered here “regard” דרשׁ dârash means properly to seek or inquire after, to ask for or demand. Dr. Good renders it here, “Let not God inclose it,” but this meaning is not found in the Hebrew. Noyes renders it literally, “Let not God seek it.” Herder, “Let not God inquire…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-10Job spoke and risked words of sin (1:21; 2:10). Job cursed the day of his birth in great detail. However, his words sounded more like sad complaints. Job did not curse God as his creator, but he showed grief about the condition of his life.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. let not God regard it--rather, more poetically, "seek it out." "Let not God stoop from His bright throne to raise it up from its dark hiding-place." The curse on the day in Job 3:3, is amplified in Job 3:4, 5; that on the night, in Job 3:6-10.Read the comment

Topics related to Job 3:4

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Despondency
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• That Day
• Above
• Dig
• Poetry
• Roaring
• Safety
• Solitary
• 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