God’s Word Translation
Job 3:11
11“Why didn’t I die as soon as I was born and breathe my last breath when I came out of the womb?
Job 3:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?
- New International Version (NIV)“Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?
Context of Job 3:11
9Let its stars turn dark before dawn. Let it hope for light and receive none. Let it not see the first light of dawn 10because it did not shut the doors of the womb ⌞from which I came⌟ or hide my eyes from trouble. “Why didn’t I die as soon as I was born and breathe my last breath when I came out of the womb? 12Why did knees welcome me? Why did breasts let me nurse? 13Instead of being alive, I would now be quietly lying down. I would now be sleeping peacefully.
Read all of Job 3Job 3:11 word by word
לָ֤מָּה לֹּ֣א מֵרֶ֣חֶם אָמ֑וּת מִבֶּ֖טֶן יָצָ֣אתִי וְאֶגְוָֽע׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 3:11
- Psalms 58:8Let them become like a snail that leaves behind a slimy trail or like a stillborn child who never sees the sun.
- Jeremiah 15:10I’m so miserable! Why did my mother give birth to me? I am a man who argues and quarrels with the whole earth. I have never lent or borrowed anything. Yet, everyone curses me.
- Hosea 9:14Lord, give them what they deserve. Make the women miscarry, or else make them unable to nurse their babies.
- Psalms 22:9Indeed, you are the one who brought me out of the womb, the one who made me feel safe at my mother’s breasts.
- Psalms 71:6I depended on you before I was born. You took me from my mother’s womb. My songs of praise constantly speak about you.
- Psalms 139:13You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother.
- Isaiah 46:3Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, the few people left of the nation of Israel. I’ve carried you since your birth. I’ve taken care of you from the time you were born.
Commentaries on Job 3:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11Why died I not from the womb - As the other circumstance did not take place, why was I not still-born, without the possibility of reviviscence? or, as this did not occur, why did I not die as soon as born? These three things appear to me to be clearly intended here: - Dying in the womb, or never coming to maturity, as in the case of an abortion. Being still-born, without ever being able to breathe. 3. Or, if born alive, dying within a short time after…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Why died I not from the womb? - Why did I not die as soon as I was born? Why were any pains taken to keep me alive? The suggestion of this question leads Job in the following verses into the beautiful description, of what he would have been if he had then died. He complains, therefore, that any pains were taken by his friends to keep him alive, and that he was not suffered peacefully to expire. Gave up the ghost - A phrase that is often used in the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-19Verses 11-19 Job complained of those present at his birth, for their tender attention to him. No creature comes into the world so helpless as man. God's power and providence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by God. To desire to die that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, is the effect and evidence of grace; but to desire to die, only that we may be…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-24Job's language shifts from wishing he was never born to grief. He goes from hating life towards an attraction for death. Job asks "why" seven times, as he has grief for his situation (3:11, 12, 16, 20, 23; see Psalms 10:1; 22:1; Jeremiah 20:18; Lamentations 5:20).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 3:11
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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