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‘Forget the day of my birth. Forget the night when a son was born to my parents. 4That day should be completely dark, with no light to shine on it! God in heaven above should not even think about it. That day should remain in a dark shadow. Clouds should cover it so that everywhere is black. 6Remove that night completely! It should no longer be a date among the days of the year. Remove that day from the months of the year. 7Do not let women become pregnant on that night. Nobody should be happy!

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 10:21I will soon go to the dark place where there is no hope. I will never come back from that place.
• Job 16:16I have cried so much that my face is red. There are dark circles around my eyes.
• Job 24:17They all like to do evil things at night, rather than in the light of morning. They are not afraid of things that happen in the dark, as other people are.
• Job 28:3People take light into dark places under the ground. They look carefully for valuable metals.
• Job 38:17Nobody has showed you the gates of death. People go through them to that very dark place.
• Psalms 23:4I may walk through a valley that is as dark as death. But I will not be afraid of any danger. This is because you are with me, Lord. Your stick and your shepherd's pole protect me from danger.
• Psalms 44:19But you have broken us in pieces. You have left us for wild dogs to eat. You have covered us with the darkness of death.
• Psalms 107:10Some people sat in a completely dark place. Iron chains held them as prisoners, and they were very sad.
• Isaiah 9:2The people who walk in the dark now see a bright light! Light is shining on those people who live in a land of complete darkness.
• Jeremiah 2:6They did not think to themselves, “Where is the Lord? We should ask him to help us. He brought us safely out of Egypt. He led us through the wilderness. It was a place with dry sand and deep holes. There was no water there and it was dangerous. Nobody lives in that desert, and nobody even travels through it.”
• Jeremiah 13:16Give honour to the Lord your God, before it is too late. Do it before he makes everywhere become dark. Then you will fall down, like someone who walks on the mountains at night. You may hope for light to come, but God will make it completely dark.
• Amos 5:8The Lord made the groups of stars called Pleiades and Orion. The Lord changes the night into dawn, and he changes the day back to night again. He takes the water in the sea, and he pours it out as rain on the earth. The Lord is his name!
• Matthew 4:16They are like people who are living in the dark. They live in the shadow which death brings. God will send a light to shine on them.’
• Luke 1:79He will bring light to people who are living without God. It is like those people are living in the dark. They are afraid to die. But he will shine on them. He will show us how to live so that we will not be afraid.’
• Deuteronomy 4:11At that time, you came and you stood at the edge of the mountain. You saw that the fire on the mountain reached up to the sky. But the sky was full of black clouds and it was dark.
• Ezekiel 30:3Yes, that day will be very soon. It is the day of the Lord. It will be a day of dark clouds, when the Lord will punish 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