New King James Version
Job 3:11
11“Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from 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 Living Translation (NLT)“Why wasn’t I born dead? Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?
Context of Job 3:11
9May the stars of its morning be dark; May it look for light, but have none, And not see the dawning of the day; 10Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, Nor hide sorrow from my eyes. “Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? 12Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? 13For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest
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 be like a snail which melts away as it goes, Like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
- Jeremiah 15:10Woe is me, my mother, That you have borne me, A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent for interest, Nor have men lent to me for interest. Every one of them curses me.
- Hosea 9:14Give them, O Lord— What will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb And dry breasts!
- Psalms 22:9But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
- Psalms 71:6By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You.
- Psalms 139:13For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.
- Isaiah 46:3“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb:
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries