Job 3:23 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 3:20-26

Job, finding it to no purpose to wish either that he had not been born or had died as soon as he was born, here complains that his life was now continued and not cut off. When men are set on quarrelling there is no end of it; the corrupt heart will carry on the humour. Having cursed the day of his birth, here he courts the day of his death. The beginning of this strife and impatience is as the letting forth of water. I. He thinks it hard, in general, that miserable lives should be prolonged... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 3:23

Why is light given to a man whose way is hid ,.... Some of the Jewish writers connect this with Job 3:22 , thus; "who rejoice and are glad when they find a grave for a man", &c.; but it should be observed that such are said to rejoice at finding a grave, not for others, but for themselves; the words stand in better connection with Job 3:20 , from whence the supplement is taken in our version and others; and so it is a continuation or repetition of the expostulation why light and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 3:23

To a man whose way is hid - Who knows not what is before him in either world, but is full of fears and trembling concerning both. God hath hedged in? - Leaving him no way to escape; and not permitting him to see one step before him. There is an exact parallel to this passage in Lamentations 3:7 , Lamentations 3:9 ; : He hath hedged me about that I cannot get out. He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone. Mr. Good translates the verse thus: To the man whose path is broken up, and... 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 3:20-26

The stricken patriarch's lament: 3. Desiring his death. I. DOLEFUL LAMENTATION . Job pitifully wails forth that his soul was in bitterness because of: 1 . The miseries of life. Which he depicts as: 2 . The perplexities of providence. To these he alludes when he describes himself as a man "whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in" (verse 23). The term "way" is often put for course of life ( Psalms 1:6 ; Proverbs 4:19 ; Isaiah 26:7 ; Jeremiah 10:23 ); and a man's... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:20-26

The unanswered question. From the lips of Job words escape which prove how deeply he suffered. "Why?" is ever on the lips of men when they consider God's hidden work. But he giveth none account of his ways. Clouds and darkness are round about him. Happy the man who at all times is persuaded that justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne. The question here proposed by Job is the unanswered question running through the whole book. Until all is accomplished, the design of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:23

Why is light given to a man whose way is hid? "Obscured," that is, "darkened," "placed under a cloud" (comp. Job 3:20 , where the sentiment is nearly the same). And whom God hath hedged in . Not in the way of protection, as in Job 1:10 , but of obstruction and confinement: (comp. Job 19:8 and Hosea 2:6 ). Job feels himself confined, imprisoned, blocked in. He can neither see the path which he ought to pursue nor take steps in any direction. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:23

(along with Job 1:10 ). The two hedges; of the hedge of prosperity and the hedge of adversity. I. IN WHAT THEY COMPARE . 1 . In being planted by God. Job's prosperity was from God; his adversity was not without God. 2 . In encircling the saint. Job was equally a pious man in both positions. 3 . In being both removable. If Job's prosperity was exchanged for adversity, his adversity was afterwards succeeded by prosperity, II. IN WHAT THEY CONTRAST . 1 . In... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:23

The mystery of limitations. Job here refers to two kinds of limitations—limits to knowledge and limits to power. Each is mysterious and perplexing. I. THE MYSTERY OF LIMITED KNOWLEDGE . There are many kinds of knowledge that are of no immediate and practical importance to us. It would satisfy our curiosity if an answer could be found for our inquiries about such subjects; but it is by no means necessary that an answer should be forthcoming, and we can very well be content to go... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 3:20-26

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 3:23

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 3:23

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:1-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:1-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:20-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:20-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:23

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:23

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 3:23

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