Job 3:7 kjv
Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.
Job 3:7 nkjv
Oh, may that night be barren! May no joyful shout come into it!
Job 3:7 niv
May that night be barren; may no shout of joy be heard in it.
Job 3:7 esv
Behold, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry enter it.
Job 3:7 nlt
Let that night be childless.
Let it have no joy.
Job 3 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 3:3 | "Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, 'A man is conceived!'" | Job curses his birth. |
| Job 3:8 | "Let those curse it who curse the day, who are skilled to rouse Leviathan." | Job desires powerful curses on that night. |
| Job 3:20-21 | "Why is light given to him who is in misery...who long for death?" | Questioning the purpose of his painful life. |
| Jer 20:14-18 | "Cursed be the day on which I was born!...Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow?" | Jeremiah's similar lament cursing his birth. |
| Ecc 4:2-3 | "I considered the dead who are already dead more fortunate...but better than both is he who has not yet been..." | Preferring non-existence over suffering. |
| Ecc 6:3 | "...if he does not enjoy his good things...better off is a stillborn child than he." | A stillborn's perceived advantage over a sorrowful life. |
| Ps 137:1-4 | "By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down...How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?" | Inability to sing joyful songs in deep distress/captivity. |
| Lam 5:15-16 | "The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning. The crown has fallen..." | National mourning and cessation of joy. |
| Isa 24:8-9 | "The mirth of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of revelers has ceased...They do not drink wine with singing." | Sounds of joy and feasting are silenced due to judgment. |
| Isa 54:1 | "Sing, O barren one, who does not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor!" | Prophetic reversal of barrenness into joyful fertility (contrast). |
| Ps 30:11 | "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness." | God's power to restore joy from sorrow (contrast). |
| Gen 30:1 | "When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, 'Give me children, or I shall die!'" | The cultural importance and intense desire for children, making barrenness a deep sorrow (context for galmud). |
| Lk 23:29 | "For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore...'" | Prophecy of such intense distress that barrenness would be considered a blessing (similar despair). |
| Matt 26:24 | "The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born." | A wish for non-existence in light of grave sin/consequences. |
| Rom 5:3 | "...but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance..." | A New Testament perspective on finding purpose in suffering (contrast). |
| Jas 1:2 | "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds..." | Christian perspective of joy in trials (contrast). |
| 2 Cor 4:17-18 | "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory..." | Present suffering is temporary and produces eternal good (contrast). |
| Ps 88:18 | "You have removed far from me my friends and acquaintances; darkness is my closest friend." | Sense of profound isolation and sorrow. |
| Job 1:21 | "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return...The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." | Job's earlier, initial pious acceptance, contrasting his later lament. |
| Jn 16:20-22 | "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy." | Sorrow giving way to ultimate joy through Christ (contrast). |
| Rev 21:4 | "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore..." | The future state where sorrow and crying are abolished. |
Job 3 verses
Job 3 7 Meaning
Job 3:7 expresses Job's deep anguish, where he wishes the night of his conception or birth to be completely barren, desolate, and utterly silent, devoid of any celebratory sound or joyful noise associated with the start of a new life. It is a profound declaration of despair, desiring the nullification of his own existence to escape his immense suffering.
Job 3 7 Context
Job 3 opens the book of Job to the direct expression of Job's profound grief and despair after seven days of silent mourning with his friends. This chapter marks a shift from Job's initial unwavering piety in the face of suffering (Job 1:21, 2:10) to an agonizing lament where he wishes for the cessation of his own existence. He has lost all his children, his vast wealth, and his health, now afflicted with painful boils from head to foot. Verse 7 specifically curses the "night" of his conception or birth (in parallelism with the "day" cursed in Job 3:3), revealing an intense desire to annul the very moment his life began, so desperate is he to escape the unfathomable pain and meaninglessness he perceives in his suffering. This curse is a hyperbolic expression of immense anguish, indicating that his pain has become so severe that even life itself feels like a curse.
Job 3 7 Word analysis
- that night (הַלַּיְלָה הַהוּא - ha-laylah ha-hu): Refers to the specific night of Job's conception, mirroring the "day" of his birth cursed in Job 3:3. Job wishes to retroactively negate the very beginning of his existence, demonstrating a profound wish for non-being as a release from his suffering. This temporal curse shows the depth of his desire for undoing the origin of his unbearable pain.
- be barren (יְהִי גַּלְמוּד - yehi galmud):
- יְהִי (yehi): "let it be" - an imperative, a command or strong wish, indicating a fervent desire for this state.
- גַּלְמוּד (galmud): This word means "barren, desolate, unproductive, isolated, solitary." When applied to a night, it conveys the idea that this specific night should yield no fruit, no life, no blessed outcome. It evokes an image of sterile emptiness and profound solitude, a rejection of its very purpose of bringing forth life. Culturally, barrenness for a woman was a deep sorrow; applying it to a night intensifies the desired lack of productiveness.
- let no joyful shout enter it (צְפַצָּה אַל תָּבוֹא בֹוֹ רְנָנָה - tzefatzah al tavo bo renanah):
- צְפַצָּה (tzefatzah): This is a rare and unique Hebrew word, possibly onomatopoeic, often associated with a "chirp," "whisper," "mutter," or "squeak." In context, some scholars understand it as referring to any type of faint sound that indicates life or joy, perhaps even the soft gurgle or breath of a newborn. Its inclusion before renanah might emphasize the desire for an absolute silence – not even the quietest, most subtle sign of life or celebration should have occurred on that night.
- אַל תָּבוֹא בֹוֹ (al tavo bo): "let not come into it" - a strong prohibition, expressing a powerful negation.
- רְנָנָה (renanah): This term means "joyful shout, singing, ringing cry, acclamation of joy." It denotes the sounds of celebration, triumph, or profound happiness, such as those that accompany a birth or other blessed events.
- Together, the phrase demands an unnatural, deathly quietude on a night that would ordinarily be filled with expressions of delight at the prospect or arrival of a new life. Job wishes that no sound, from the faintest murmur to the loudest cheer, should have ever disturbed the absolute silence of that "barren" night.
Job 3 7 Bonus section
Job's cursing of his birth in Job 3 reflects a tradition found in ancient Near Eastern laments where one's day of birth could be invoked negatively during extreme suffering, though often directed by an outside entity rather than oneself. Job's self-directed curse is unusual and highlights the intense, internalized nature of his pain. This passage also serves as a crucial theological setup for the remainder of the Book of Job, forcing a consideration of whether righteous suffering, if it leads to such profound despair, might indicate a flawed understanding of God's justice or purpose. It is a raw expression of humanity's struggle with unanswered questions of pain, serving as a powerful counterpoint to Job's earlier patience and faith.
Job 3 7 Commentary
Job 3:7 powerfully articulates Job's complete breakdown and radical despair. His curse is not merely a complaint but a profound rejection of the very beginning of his life. By wishing the night of his conception to be barren and silent of joy, he expresses a desire for retroactive non-existence, revealing that his suffering has reached a point where he views life itself as a burden rather than a gift. This hyperbolic lament underlines the severity of his anguish, where rational thought gives way to a desperate yearning for release through oblivion. It challenges the common ancient belief in the blessedness of life and birth, revealing a man crushed under the weight of inexplicable pain who perceives no good or purpose in his continued existence.