Job 3:4
New International Version
That day—may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine on it.

New Living Translation
Let that day be turned to darkness. Let it be lost even to God on high, and let no light shine on it.

English Standard Version
Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it.

Berean Standard Bible
If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above disregard it; may no light shine upon it.

King James Bible
Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

New King James Version
May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it.

New American Standard Bible
“May that day be darkness; May God above not care for it, Nor light shine on it.

NASB 1995
“May that day be darkness; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it.

NASB 1977
“May that day be darkness; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it.

Legacy Standard Bible
May that day be darkness; Let not God seek it from above, Nor light shine on it.

Amplified Bible
“May that day be darkness; Let God above not care about it, Nor light shine on it.

Christian Standard Bible
If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above not care about it, or light shine on it.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above not care about it, or light shine on it.

American Standard Version
Let that day be darkness; Let not God from above seek for it, Neither let the light shine upon it.

Contemporary English Version
Forget about that day, cover it with darkness,

English Revised Version
Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"That day- let it be pitch-black. Let God above not [even] care about it. Let no light shine on it.

Good News Translation
Turn that day into darkness, God. Never again remember that day; never again let light shine on it.

International Standard Version
Let that day be dark; let God above not care about it; let no light shine over it.

Majority Standard Bible
If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above disregard it; may no light shine upon it.

NET Bible
That day--let it be darkness; let not God on high regard it, nor let light shine on it!

New Heart English Bible
Let that day be darkness. Do not let God from above seek for it, neither let the light shine on it.

Webster's Bible Translation
Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

World English Bible
Let that day be darkness. Don’t let God from above seek for it, neither let the light shine on it.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
That day—let it be darkness, "" Do not let God require it from above, "" Nor let light shine on it.

Young's Literal Translation
That day -- let it be darkness, Let not God require it from above, Nor let light shine upon it.

Smith's Literal Translation
That day shall be darkness; God shall not search it out from above, and the light shall not shine upon it.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Let that day be turned into darkness, let not God regard it from above, and let not the light shine upon it.

Catholic Public Domain Version
May that day be turned into darkness, may God not seek it from above, and may light not illuminate it.

New American Bible
May that day be darkness: may God above not care for it, may light not shine upon it!

New Revised Standard Version
Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, or light shine on it.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Let that day be dark and let it not be sought by God from above, neither let light shine upon it
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Let that day be darkness; Let not God inquire after it from above, Neither let the light shine upon it.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Let that night be darkness, and let not the Lord regard it from above, neither let light come upon it.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job Laments His Birth
3“May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ 4If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above disregard it; may no light shine upon it. 5May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it; may the blackness of the day overwhelm it.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 20:14
Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.

Job 10:18-19
Why then did You bring me from the womb? Oh, that I had died, and no eye had seen me! / If only I had never come to be, but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

Job 7:16
I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

Job 6:8-9
If only my request were granted and God would fulfill my hope: / that God would be willing to crush me, to unleash His hand and cut me off!

Job 10:21-22
before I go—never to return—to a land of darkness and gloom, / to a land of utter darkness, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.”

Job 14:13
If only You would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until Your anger has passed! If only You would appoint a time for me and then remember me!

Job 17:13-16
If I look for Sheol as my home, if I spread out my bed in darkness, / and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’ / where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? ...

Job 30:26
But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness fell.

Job 21:17
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?

Job 24:13-17
Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths. / When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief. / The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face. ...

Ecclesiastes 4:2-3
So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive. / But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

Lamentations 3:1-2
I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath. / He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light.

Isaiah 13:10
For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.

Amos 5:18-20
Woe to you who long for the Day of the LORD! What will the Day of the LORD be for you? It will be darkness and not light. / It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake. / Will not the Day of the LORD be darkness and not light, even gloom with no brightness in it?

Matthew 27:45
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.


Treasury of Scripture

Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine on it.

darkness.

Exodus 10:22,23
And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: …

Joel 2:2
A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

Amos 5:18
Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

God regard.

Deuteronomy 11:12
A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.

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Care Dark Darkness High Inquire Light Note Regard Seek Shine Shining Turn
Job 3
1. Job curses the day and services of his birth.
13. The ease of death.
20. He complains of life, because of his anguish.














That day
This phrase refers to the day of Job's birth. In the Hebrew context, days were often seen as significant markers of time, with each day having its own purpose and meaning. Job's lamentation over his birth day reflects a deep anguish and desire to erase the day from existence. The Hebrew word for "day" (יוֹם, yom) is used throughout the Old Testament to denote not just a 24-hour period but also significant events or periods of time. Job's wish to nullify his birth day underscores his profound suffering and despair.

may it be darkness
Darkness in the Bible often symbolizes chaos, evil, or judgment. In Genesis 1, God brings order by creating light and separating it from darkness. Here, Job is expressing a wish for his birth day to be enveloped in chaos and obscurity, as if it never brought forth the light of his life. The Hebrew word for darkness (חֹשֶׁךְ, choshek) is used to describe the absence of God's presence and blessing. Job's plea for darkness reflects his feeling of being abandoned by God and engulfed in suffering.

may God above disregard it
Job is asking for God, the supreme authority, to overlook or forget the day of his birth. This is a radical request, as it implies a desire for divine indifference towards his existence. The Hebrew word for "disregard" (דָּרַשׁ, darash) can mean to seek or inquire, but in this context, it suggests a reversal—asking God not to seek or acknowledge the day. This highlights Job's intense feeling of insignificance and his wish to be erased from God's memory due to his overwhelming pain.

may no light shine upon it
Light is a powerful biblical symbol of life, goodness, and divine presence. In Genesis, God's first act of creation is to bring forth light, signifying order and life. Job's wish for no light to shine on his birth day is a desire for the absence of life and divine favor. The Hebrew word for "light" (אוֹר, or) is often associated with God's guidance and truth. By wishing for the absence of light, Job is expressing a deep sense of hopelessness and a desire to retreat into non-existence, away from the perceived absence of God's benevolence in his life.

(4) Regard.--Literally, require, ask for, and so manifest care about. (Comp. Deuteronomy 11:12.)

Verse 4. - Let that day be darkness; i.e. let a cloud rest upon it - let it be regarded as a day of ill omen, "carbone notandus." Job recognizes that his wish, that the day should perish utterly, is vain, and limits himself now to the possible. Let not God regard it from above; i.e. let not God, from the heaven where he dwells, extend to it his protection and superintending care. Neither let the light shine upon it. Pleonastic, but having the sort of force which belongs to reiteration.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
If only that
הַה֗וּא (ha·hū)
Article | Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

day
הַיּ֥וֹם (hay·yō·wm)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

had turned
יְֽהִ֫י (yə·hî)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Jussive - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

to darkness!
חֹ֥שֶׁךְ (ḥō·šeḵ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2822: The dark, darkness, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness

May God
אֱל֣וֹהַּ (’ĕ·lō·w·ah)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 433: God -- a deity, the Deity

above
מִמָּ֑עַל (mim·mā·‘al)
Preposition-m | Adverb
Strong's 4605: The upper part, with prefix upward, above, overhead, from the top

disregard it;
יִדְרְשֵׁ֣הוּ (yiḏ·rə·šê·hū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1875: To tread, frequent, to follow, to seek, ask, to worship

[may no] light
נְהָרָֽה׃ (nə·hā·rāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5105: A light, daylight

shine
תּוֹפַ֖ע (tō·w·p̄a‘)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect Jussive - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3313: To shine out or forth, to send out beams, cause to shine

upon it.
עָלָ֣יו (‘ā·lāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against


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OT Poetry: Job 3:4 Let that day be darkness (Jb)
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