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“Let the day of my birth be erased, and the night I was conceived. 4Let that day be turned to darkness. Let it be lost even to God on high, and let no light shine on it. Let the darkness and utter gloom claim that day for its own. Let a black cloud overshadow it, and let the darkness terrify it. 6Let that night be blotted off the calendar, never again to be counted among the days of the year, never again to appear among the months. 7Let that night be childless. Let it have no joy.

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 10:21before I leave—never to return— for the land of darkness and utter gloom.
• Job 16:16My eyes are red with weeping; dark shadows circle my eyes.
• Job 24:17The black night is their morning. They ally themselves with the terrors of the darkness.
• Job 28:3They know how to shine light in the darkness and explore the farthest regions of the earth as they search in the dark for ore.
• Job 38:17Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
• Psalms 23:4Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
• Psalms 44:19Yet you have crushed us in the jackal’s desert home. You have covered us with darkness and death.
• Psalms 107:10Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery.
• Isaiah 9:2The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.
• Jeremiah 2:6They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us safely out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness— a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and death, where no one lives or even travels?’
• Jeremiah 13:16Give glory to the Lord your God before it is too late. Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you, causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains. For then, when you look for light, you will find only terrible darkness and gloom.
• Amos 5:8It is the Lord who created the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness into morning and day into night. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land. The Lord is his name!
• Matthew 4:16the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.”
• Luke 1:79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
• Deuteronomy 4:11“You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness.
• Ezekiel 30:3for the terrible day is almost here— the day of the Lord! It is a day of clouds and gloom, a day of despair 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