English Standard Version
Job 3:20
20"Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,
Job 3:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;
- New International Version (NIV)“Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Why is light given to him who is in misery, And life to the bitter of soul,
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Oh, why give light to those in misery, and life to those who are bitter?
Context of Job 3:20
18There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice of the taskmaster. 19The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master. "Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, 21who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, 22who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave?
Read all of Job 3Job 3:20 word by word
לָ֤מָּה יִתֵּ֣ן לְעָמֵ֣ל א֑וֹר וְ֝חַיִּ֗ים לְמָ֣רֵי נָֽפֶשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 3:20
- Job 6:9that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
- Job 7:15so that I would choose strangling and death rather than my bones.
- Jeremiah 20:18Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?
- Job 3:16Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light?
- Job 33:28He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit, and my life shall look upon the light.'
- 1 Samuel 1:10She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.
- 2 Kings 4:27And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, "Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me."
- Proverbs 31:6Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress;
Commentaries on Job 3:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Wherefore is light given - Why is life granted to him who is incapable of enjoying it, or of performing its functions?Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery? - The word “light” here is used undoubtedly to denote “life.” This verse commences a new part of Job‘s complaint. It is that God keeps people alive who would prefer to die; that he furnishes them with the means of sustaining existence, and actually preserves them, when they would consider it an inestimable blessing to expire. Schultens remarks, on this part of the chapter, that the tone of Job‘s complaint…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-26Verses 20-26 Job was like a man who had lost his way, and had no prospect of escape, or hope of better times. But surely he was in an ill frame for death when so unwilling to live. Let it be our constant care to get ready for another world, and then leave it to God to order our removal thither as he thinks fit. Grace teaches us in the midst of life's greatest comforts, to be willing to die, and in the midst of its greatest crosses, to be willing to live…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20Job compared light to life (33:30; see John 1:4; 8:12). Bitter might mean: “Angry” (Judges 18:25). “Fierce” (2 Samuel 17:8). “Anguish” (Job 7:11). Desperate (Proverbs 31:6). “Distress” (1 Samuel 1:10; 22:2).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2620. Wherefore giveth he light--namely, God; often omitted reverentially (Job 24:23; Ec 9:9). Light, that is, life. The joyful light ill suits the mourners. The grave is most in unison with their feelings.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 3:20
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries