Job 3:11 kjv
Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?
Job 3:11 nkjv
"Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?
Job 3:11 niv
"Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?
Job 3:11 esv
"Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire?
Job 3:11 nlt
"Why wasn't I born dead?
Why didn't I die as I came from the womb?
Job 3 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 14:1 | "Man... is of few days and full of trouble." | The brevity and pain of human life. |
| Job 10:18-19 | "Why then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!" | Job's similar lament about birth and suffering. |
| Job 3:20-22 | "Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery... Who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?" | Job questions why suffering people are kept alive, longing for death. |
| Ps 22:9-10 | "You are He who took me out of the womb; You made me trust while on my mother's breasts. On You I was cast from birth..." | God's sovereignty over life's beginning. |
| Ps 58:8 | "...Like a miscarriage of a woman..." | Describes those who vanish quickly. |
| Ps 139:13-16 | "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb... all my members were written in Your book." | God's intimate knowledge and creation of life in the womb. |
| Ecc 6:3 | "...Even if he lives a thousand years twice over... I say that a miscarriage is better than he." | Similar sentiment that a stillborn child is better than a miserable life. |
| Jer 1:5 | "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you..." | God's prior knowledge and purpose for individuals from conception. |
| Jer 20:14 | "Cursed be the day wherein I was born..." | Jeremiah's similar curse on his birth due to distress. |
| Jer 20:17 | "Because he slew me not from the womb..." | Jeremiah wishing for death in the womb to avoid suffering. |
| 1 Ki 19:4 | "But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree, and he requested for himself that he might die..." | Elijah's despair and prayer for death. |
| Jonah 4:3 | "Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live." | Jonah's deep anger and despair leading to a wish for death. |
| Lam 4:9 | "They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger..." | Preference for immediate death over prolonged suffering. |
| Num 11:15 | "...if You treat me like this, please kill me at once..." | Moses expresses similar frustration and desire for death. |
| Gen 35:18 | "...and it came to pass, as her soul was departing, (for she died)..." | Biblical phrasing for "giving up the ghost." |
| Ps 31:9-10 | "Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble... my life is spent with grief." | The physical and emotional toll of distress. |
| 2 Cor 1:8-9 | "For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble... insomuch that we despaired even of life..." | Apostolic experience of extreme suffering and despair. |
| Heb 12:1-2 | "...let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus..." | Enduring suffering with focus on Christ's example. |
| Phil 1:21 | "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." | Paul's perspective, though different context, finding gain in death. |
| Rom 8:18 | "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." | Future glory overshadowing present suffering. |
| Is 49:1 | "The LORD has called Me from the womb..." | Divine purpose for individuals from conception. |
| Deut 32:39 | "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive..." | God's sovereignty over life and death. |
Job 3 verses
Job 3 11 Meaning
Job's words in verse 3:11 express a profound wish for non-existence or for immediate death at birth, serving as a desperate cry to escape the unimaginable suffering he is enduring. He longs to have been stillborn or to have perished the moment he exited the womb, thereby avoiding a life that has culminated in such agony. This lament signifies a complete breakdown of his will to live, illustrating the depth of his despair where non-being appears preferable to his present suffering.
Job 3 11 Context
Job 3:11 marks a dramatic turn in the book of Job. After an initial period of quiet resignation and worship (Job 1:20-22), and then seven days of silent companionship with his three friends who came to comfort him (Job 2:13), Job finally breaks his silence with a profound and bitter lament. Chapter 3 as a whole is Job's extended curse against the day of his birth, expressing a longing for oblivion. Verse 11 specifically reflects Job's deepest despair, where his pain is so overwhelming that he wishes he had never lived at all. This outburst sets the stage for the intense theological debates and profound explorations of suffering, justice, and divine sovereignty that characterize the rest of the book. In the patriarchal culture, a common lament among the deeply afflicted was a wish for non-existence, reflecting the intense physical and emotional toll of their trials, rather than any direct polemic against specific pagan deities, though it underscores the unique relationship a suffering individual had with the one true God who controls all life.
Job 3 11 Word analysis
- Why (לָמָּה - lammah): An interrogative particle indicating questioning, doubt, protest, or bewilderment. Here, it conveys Job's anguished questioning of divine purpose and the very circumstances of his existence. It expresses a fervent, almost accusatory, plea.
- died I not (לֹא אָמוּת - lo amut): The negative particle lo combined with amut (to die, I should die). This is a strong, almost emphatic, wish for death. It means "would that I had not died" or "why did I not die?" – a longing for the prevention of life itself, implying a preference for non-being.
- from the womb (מֵרֶחֶם - me'rechem): The prefix me (from) joined to rechem (womb, also compassion, deep love). This specifies the exact point Job wished for death: during gestation. It refers to the earliest stage of human existence, highlighting a desire to avoid ever having begun life's journey.
- why did I not (וְלָמָּה לֹא - v'lammah lo): The conjunction v' (and) adds emphasis, creating a parallel and reinforcing the previous plea. The repetition underscores the intensity and persistence of Job's bitter wish.
- give up the ghost (גָּוַעְתִּי - gava'ti): This Hebrew verb means "to expire," "to breathe one's last," or "to die." It signifies the act of life departing from the body. It refers to a natural or sudden cessation of life.
- when I came out of the belly (מִבֶּטֶן - mi'beten): Mi (from) combined with beten (belly, womb, inward part). This is synonymous parallelism with "from the womb," emphasizing birth. It implies dying immediately upon being born, perhaps as a stillborn or very soon after. This is another specific, agonizing wish to have been spared any moment of conscious life.
Words-Group Analysis:
- "Why died I not from the womb?": This phrase expresses a wish to have been an aborted fetus or to have miscarried, preventing any physical existence outside the mother. It implies a desire for absolute non-existence, to have been merely a potentiality that ceased to be.
- "Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?": This phrase specifies the wish to have been stillborn or to have died at the very moment of birth. It speaks to avoiding the first breath, the first encounter with life outside the maternal body, and therefore all subsequent pain and sorrow. The parallelism reinforces Job's despair, expressing a desire to escape suffering by avoiding any experience of life. These two phrases represent a comprehensive wish for death at the very outset of his life, demonstrating his profound anguish.
Job 3 11 Bonus section
The structure of Job 3 is that of a "dirge" or a "lament psalm" common in ancient Near Eastern literature and the biblical Psalter. Job's choice of poetic parallelism, where "from the womb" is echoed by "out of the belly," intensifies the emotional impact and the all-encompassing nature of his wish for non-existence. This isn't merely a fleeting thought, but a deeply felt, articulate desire. His despair is complete, a longing for nega'iya, a returning to the primordial nothingness. The depth of Job's suffering, which provokes such an intense wish, forces the reader to confront the reality of genuine human pain, allowing no easy answers or theological platitudes to suffice. The book of Job ultimately does not condemn Job for this lament, recognizing it as an honest expression of human vulnerability in the face of divine inscrutability.
Job 3 11 Commentary
Job 3:11 provides a raw and startling window into the depths of human despair when confronted with overwhelming, seemingly meaningless suffering. Job's wish for death at his very conception or birth is not a curse against God's providence, but a bitter lament arising from physical agony, mental anguish, and spiritual confusion. It reveals that suffering can push even the most righteous and faithful to the brink of desiring oblivion rather than continuation. The choice of specific moments—"from the womb" and "out of the belly"—illustrates his desire to avoid any lived experience, emphasizing the radical nature of his suffering. This verse sets the human stage for the complex dialogue that follows, as Job and his friends grapple with profound theological questions, asserting that in the face of suffering, the desire for an end to one's pain is a fundamental human cry, regardless of its seeming rationality. It underscores the biblical theme that lament is a permissible, even necessary, form of address to God, even in its most profound and challenging forms.