Job 3:11

"because it didn’t shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor did it hide trouble from my eyes."

Key Reflection

In Job 3:11, Job laments his birth by asserting that had he died in the womb, he would have avoided all the troubles and sorrows that came with life. The imagery of "shutting up the doors of my mother’s womb" suggests a desire for non-existence, as if the act of preventing birth could also prevent suffering. This verse reflects Job's profound anguish over his existence, highlighting how deeply he feels the weight of his trials and the relief he would have experienced had he never been born at all.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Why 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 English version of the Bible to denote death;Genesis 49:33;Job 11:20;Job 14:10;Jeremiah 15:9;Matthew 27:50;Acts 5:10. It conveys an idea, however, which is not necessarily in the original, though the idea in itself is not incorrect.

Related Verses

More from Job 3

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