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“May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ 4If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above disregard it; may no light shine upon it. May 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. 7Behold, may that night be barren; may no joyful voice come into it.

Job 3:5 word by word

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

• May darknessחֹ֫שֶׁךְchôshek · darknessH2822
• and gloomצַלְמָ֫וֶתtsalmâveth · shadowH6757
• reclaim itגָּאַלgâ'al · to redeem: redeemH1350
• and a cloudעֲנָנָה‛ănânâh · cloudH6053
• settleשָׁכַןshâkan · to dwellH7931
• over itעַל‛al · uponH5921
• may the blacknessכִּמְרִירkimrîyr · darknessH3650
• of the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• overwhelm itבָּעַתbâ‛ath · to terrifyH1204

Cross-references for Job 3:5

• Job 10:21before I go—never to return— to a land of darkness and gloom,
• Job 16:16My face is red with weeping, and deep shadows ring my eyes;
• Job 24:17For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!
• Job 28:3Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
• Job 38:17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
• Psalms 23:4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
• Psalms 44:19But You have crushed us in the lair of jackals; You have covered us with deepest darkness.
• Psalms 107:10Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and chains,
• Isaiah 9:2The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
• Jeremiah 2:6They did not ask, ‘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 pits, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
• Jeremiah 13:16Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.
• Amos 5:8He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth— the LORD is His name—
• Matthew 4:16the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
• Luke 1:79to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
• Deuteronomy 4:11You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
• Ezekiel 30:3For the day is near, the Day of the LORD is near. It will be a day of clouds, 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