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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 3:11-19

Job, perhaps reflecting upon himself for his folly in wishing he had never been born, follows it, and thinks to mend it, with another, little better, that he had died as soon as he was born, which he enlarges upon in these verses. When our Saviour would set forth a very calamitous state of things he seems to allow such a saying as this, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the paps which never gave suck (Luke 23:29); but blessing the barren womb is one thing and cursing... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 3:16

Or as an hidden untimely birth ,.... Or "hid, as one born out of time", as Mr. Broughton reads it; the Septuagint use the same word as the apostle does, when he says the like of himself, 1 Corinthians 15:8 ; the word has the signification of "falling" F19 כגפל "sicut abortivus qui ex utero excidit, aut in terram cadit", Michaelis. , and designs an abortive, which is like to fruit that falls from the tree before it is ripe; and this may be said to be "hidden", either in the belly,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 3:16

Or as a hidden untimely birth - An early miscarriage, which was scarcely perceptible by the parent herself; and in this case he had not been - he had never had the distinguishable form of a human being, whether male or female. As infants - Little ones; those farther advanced in maturity, but miscarried long before the time of birth. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:1-26

The eloquence of grief. This book, so entirely true to nature, presents here one of the darkest moods of the grief-stricken heart. The first state is that of paralyzed silence, dumbness, inertia. Were this to continue, death must ensue. Stagnation will be fatal. The currents of thought and feeling must in some way be set flowing in their accustomed channels, as in the beautiful little poem of Tennyson on the mother suddenly bereaved of her warrior-lord- "All her maidens, wondering, said, ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:11-19

The stricken patriarch's lament: 2. Bewailing his life. I. THE DESPISED GIFT — LIFE . In bitterness of soul, Job not only laments that ever he had entered on the stage of existence at all, but with the perverse ingenuity of grief which looks at all things crosswise, he turns the very mercies of God into occasions of complaint, despising God's care of him: 1 . Before birth. "Why died I not from the womb?" i.e. while I was yet unborn; surely a display of monstrous ingratitude,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:13-19

The grave. I. A REGION OF IMPENETRABLE DARKNESS . II. A REALM OF UNBROKEN SILENCE . III. AN ABODE OF DEEP TRANQUILLITY . IV. A BED OF PEACEFUL SLUMBER . V. A WORLD OF ABSOLUTE EQUALITY . VI. A PLACE OF UNIVERSAL RENDEZVOUS . VII. A HOUSE OF TEMPORARY LODGING . LESSONS . 1 . Humility. 2 . Contentment. 3 . Diligence. 4 . Watchfulness. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:13-19

The grave a rest. In the toil and sorrow of life men long for rest. They lighten the toils and brighten the darkness of the present by the hope of repose and gladness in the future. Without such a hope life's burdens would be much heavier than they are; and in some cases almost insupportable. As the worn labourer longs for the rest of the even-tide, so does the over-wrought spirit of the sad desire the rest of the grave. It is proper to consider if this is a healthy, a just, a well-grounded... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:16

Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light . This is added as another way in which Job might have escaped his misery. Though conceived and brought to the birth, he might have been still-born, and so have known no suffering. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:16

To be or not to be. I. AGAINST BEING AND IN FAVOUR OF NOT - BEING . 1 . Life is little other than a capacity for suffering affliction. 2 . At the best, life is so short, and man's powers so feeble, that nothing he undertakes can attain to perfection. 3 . In every instance life involves the terrible necessity and painful experience of dying. 4 . Life always carries in its bosom the possibility of coming short of everlasting felicity. II. IN FAVOUR OF ... read more

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