Job 3:14

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 3:14

With the kings and counsellors of the earth ,.... From whom he might descend, he being a person of great distinction and figure; and so, had he died, he would have been buried in the sepulchres of his ancestors, and have lain in great pomp and state: or rather this he says, to observe that death spares none, that neither the power of kings, who have long hands, nor the wisdom of counsellors, who have long heads, can secure them from death; and that after death they are upon a level with... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 3:14

With kings and counsellors of the earth - I believe this translation to be perfectly correct. The counsellors, יעצי yoatsey , I suppose to mean the privy council, or advisers of kings; those without whose advice kings seldom undertake wars, expeditions, etc. These mighty agitators of the world are at rest in their graves, after the lives of commotion which they have led among men: most of whom indeed have been the troublers of the peace of the globe. Which built desolate places - Who... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:1-26

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 3:14

With kings and counsellers of the earth . As a great man himself, nobly born probably, Job expects that his place in another world would have been with kings and nobles (see Isaiah 14:9-11 , where the King of Babylon, on entering Sheol, finds himself among "all the kings of the nations"). Which built desolate places for themselves . Some understand "restorers of cities which had become waste and desolate;" others, "builders of edifices which, since they built them, have become desolate;"... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:14

The pyramids. The rock-tombs, mausoleums, and pyramids, which are most striking features of Eastern and especially of Egyptian architecture, are noted by Job with some feeling of envy. It is not that the splendour of these strange works excites his admiration. His thought dwells rather on their desolation, but this desolation is brought out the more vividly by contrast with their vastness and original magnificence. To be associated with such imposing embodiments of the idea of death is just... read more

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