Job 3:17-19(v16)There the wicked cease from troubling. There the weary are at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together. They don’t hear the voice of…
Job 13:15(v15)Behold, he will kill me. I have no hope. Nevertheless, I will maintain my ways before him.
Job 4:6(v15)Isn’t your piety your confidence? Isn’t the integrity of your ways your hope?
Job 6:11(v15)What is my strength, that I should wait? What is my end, that I should be patient?
Job 10:21-22(v13)before I go where I will not return from, to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death; the land dark as midnight, of the shadow of…
Show all 36 cross-references
Job 19:10(v15)He has broken me down on every side, and I am gone. He has plucked my hope up like a tree.
Psalms 16:10(v14)For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.
Jonah 2:6(v16)I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth barred me in forever: yet have you brought up my life from the pit, Yahweh my God.
Job 3:13(v13)For now should I have lain down and been quiet. I should have slept, then I would have been at rest,
Job 13:28(v14)though I am decaying like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten.
Job 14:14(v13)If a man dies, will he live again? I would wait all the days of my warfare, until my release should come.
Job 17:1(v13)“My spirit is consumed. My days are extinct, and the grave is ready for me.
Job 18:13-14(v16)The members of his body will be devoured. The firstborn of death will devour his members. He will be rooted out of the security of his…
Job 21:26(v14)They lie down alike in the dust. The worm covers them.
Job 21:32-33(v14)Yet he will be borne to the grave. Men will keep watch over the tomb. The clods of the valley will be sweet to him. All men will draw after…
Job 24:20(v14)The womb will forget him. The worm will feed sweetly on him. He will be no more remembered. Unrighteousness will be broken as a tree.
Job 30:23(v13)For I know that you will bring me to death, To the house appointed for all living.
Job 30:30(v14)My skin grows black and peels from me. My bones are burned with heat.
Job 33:18-28(v16)He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. He is chastened also with pain on his bed, with continual…
Psalms 27:14(v13)Wait for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh.
Psalms 49:9(v14)that he should live on forever, that he should not see corruption.
Psalms 88:4-8(v16)I am counted among those who go down into the pit. I am like a man who has no help, set apart among the dead, like the slain who lie in the…
Psalms 139:8(v13)If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!
Psalms 143:7(v16)Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit.
Isaiah 14:11(v14)Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, with the sound of your stringed instruments. Maggots are spread out under you, and worms cover you.
Isaiah 38:17-18(v16)Behold, for peace I had great anguish, but you have in love for my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for you have cast all my…
Isaiah 57:2(v13)He enters into peace. They rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness.
Lamentations 3:25-26(v13)Yahweh is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation…
Ezekiel 37:11(v16)Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is…
Acts 2:27-31(v14)because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay. You made known to me the ways of life. You…
Acts 13:34-37(v14)“Concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the holy and…
1 Corinthians 15:42(v14)So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown perishable; it is raised imperishable.
1 Corinthians 15:53-54(v14)For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable body will have become…
2 Corinthians 1:9(v16)Yes, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,
Job 7:6(v15)My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.
Job 19:26(v14)After my skin is destroyed, then I will see God in my flesh,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv13, 14, 16Though I should hope to come from adversity to…
Though I should hope to come from adversity to prosperity, as your discourse pretendeth.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv13–16Job 17:13 If I wait, the grave [is] mine…
Job 17:13 If I wait, the grave [is] mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.
Ver. 13. If I wait, the grave is mine house] In that congregation house of all living (as it is called, Job 30:23) both I and my hopes must be suddenly lodged. Some render it thus, If I build, the grave is my house. Solomon calleth it, The house of eternity, Ecc 12:5. And the Egyptians accordingly call graves everlasting houses, as Siculus saith, lib. i.
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I have made my bed in darkness] The grave was Job’s house, and therein he had made his bed to rest from his labours. There men follow their works no more, because followed by their works, Rev 14:13.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv13–16If I wait; if I should give way to…
If I wait; if I should give way to those hopes of my deliverance and restoration which you suggest to me.
The grave is mine house: I should be sadly disappointed; for I am upon the borders of the grave, which is the only house appointed for me, instead of that goodly house which you promise to me here upon condition of my repentance.
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I have made my bed in darkness; I expect no other rest but in the dark grave, for which therefore I prepare myself.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv13–16If I wait, the grave is mine house,.... Not…
If I wait, the grave is mine house,.... Not that Job put an "if" upon, or made a doubt of waiting upon God in private or public; or of waiting for him, his gracious appearances to him, answers of prayer, performance of promises, and deliverance out of trouble; and especially of waiting his appointed time till his change came, and hoping and expecting eternal life and happiness; all which he determined to do, and did, see Job 13:15; but he says this with respect to the advice of his friends, which should it be taken, the issue of would be no other than what he here suggests; they had intimated, that if he repented and reformed, he might hope for and expect a peaceable tabernacle, and a prosperous habitation, a line house, and affluent circumstances, Job 5:24. Now, says he, should I listen to this, and endeavour to cherish some hope and expectation of small things, and put myself in a waiting posture for them, alas! how soon would it be over, for what other house can I rationally expect but the grave? and this is what I have upon; I think of no other house than that, which is man's long home, the house appointed for all living; there I shall dwell, and make my abode until the morning of the resurrection, and I look for no other; and if I should, I am well assured! should be disappointed:
I have made my bed in the darkness: in the dark grave, where the light of the body is extinct, and where the light of the sun comes not; in houses there are various apartments, some for work and business, as is the shop; others for eating and drinking, as the dining room; and others for sleep and rest, as the bedchamber; now in the house of the grave there is no mention of any but the latter; for there is no work and device in the grave, nor eating and drinking there; but it is a bed where the weary saint lies down and rests upon from all his toil and labour, until he awakes at the resurrection: now Job had settled the matter with himself, he had laid it out in his own mind, and taken a kind of pleasure in the prospect of it; that he had got a house to move into, when he was dislodged from the earthly house of his tabernacle, and where he had made himself, in his own thought, an easy bed, on which he should lay his weary limbs, and take his sleep and rest, until the heavens be no more.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv13–16Wait - For deliverance, I should be disappointed; for…
Wait - For deliverance, I should be disappointed; for I am upon the borders of the grave, I expect no rest but in the dark grave, for which therefore I prepare myself. I endeavour to make it easy, by keeping my conscience pure, by seeing Christ lying in this bed, (so turning it into a bed of spices) and by looking beyond it to the resurrection.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv13–16Verse 13. The grave is mine house] Let my…
Verse 13. The grave is mine house] Let my life be long or short, the grave at last will be my home. I expect soon to lie down in darkness - there is my end: I cannot reasonably hope for any thing else.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv13, 14, 16Job 17:13. If I wait, the grave is my…
Job 17:13. If I wait, the grave is my house — Hebrew, אם אקוה, im akaveh, If I eagerly desire and expect any thing now, it is the grave, the only habitation I can promise myself; and which I am just entering. There I am going to rest in a bed where I shall not be disturbed, for which therefore I am preparing myself. In all situations, and amidst all changes, we should keep the grave in view, the bed in which we are shortly to lie, and, by preparation for it, should endeavour to make it easy, namely, by securing peace with God, by keeping our consciences pure, by seeing Christ lying in this bed, and so turning it into a bed of spices, and by looking beyond it to the resurrection.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv13–16If I wait - Or more accurately, “truly I…
If I wait - Or more accurately, “truly I expect that the grave will be my home.” The word rendered “if” (אם 'ı̂m) is often used in such a sense. The meaning is, “I look certainly to the grave as my home. I have made up my mind to it, and have no other expectation.”
The grave - Hebrew שׁאול she'ôl. It may mean here either the grave, or the region of departed spirits, to which he expected soon to descend.
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Mine house - My home; my permanent abode.
I have made my bed - I am certain of making my bed there. I shall soon lie down there.
In the darkness - In the grave, or in the dark world to which it leads; see the notes at Job 10:21-22.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv13–16Hell. Seol. The region of the dead. (Challoner) ---…
Hell. Seol. The region of the dead. (Challoner) --- Protestants, "grave." (Haydock) --- But this text proves that there was a place of rest called hell. (Worthington) --- He speaks here chiefly of the body. (Calmet) --- Mors ultima linea rerum est. (Horace) --- "Death is the end of all." (Haydock) --- If I refrain from complaining, still I cannot expect to be restored to health.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv13–16Rather, "if I wait for this grave (Sheol, or…
Rather, "if I wait for this grave (Sheol, or the unseen world) as my house, and make my bed in the darkness (Job 17:14), and say to corruption," rather, "to the pit" or "grave," &c. (Job 17:15). Where then is my hope? [UMBREIT]. The apodosis is at Job 17:15.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv13, 14, 1613. If I wait — Lo, I wait my…
13. If I wait — Lo, I wait my abode, (sheol.)
House — The ancient Egyptians designated the tomb as their house. (See note Job_3:15.)
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Made my bed — Spread my couch. Aristobulus saw in the tomb of Cyrus a golden couch, a table with cups, a golden coffin, and a large quantity of garments ornamented with precious stones. (Strabo, xv, chap. Job_3:7.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv13–1613. If I wait, the grave] Rather as above.…
13. If I wait, the grave] Rather as above. The grave is in Heb. Sheol, the place of the departed. The word wait is the same as hope, Job_17:15.
13–15. The natural sense and connexion of these verses is as follows:
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13. If I wait for the grave as mine house;
If I have spread my bed in the darkness;
14. If I have said to the pit, thou art my father,
To the worm, thou art my mother, and my sister:
15. Where then is my hope?
And as for my hope, who shall see it?
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn v16(16) They shall go down to the bars of…
(16) They shall go down to the bars of the pit.—The last verse of this chapter, which is itself one of the most difficult, is the most difficult of all. The difficulty consists in this: the bars of the grave are masculine, and the verb, they shall go down, is feminine plural; it seems improbable that the bars of the grave should be the subject of the verb (though perhaps not absolutely impossible); but if the bars of the grave are the place to which the going down is, as in the Authorised Version, then what is the subject to the verb, go down, seeing that hope, the apparent subject, is a feminine singular? Some render “it shall go down,” but this is in defiance of the grammar, though, probably, the meaning it conveys is not far from the truth. The words clearly express a condition of utter despair, and that Job’s only hope of rest is in the grave. It is a rule in Hebrew grammar that when the verb precedes its subject it need not agree with it in gender or number; but here the verb must, at all events, come after its subject, and consequently, it is very difficult to determine what that subject is. The only apparent subject is to be found in the corruption of the worm of Job_17:14; but they, instead of going down to the grave, are already there.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv13–16If I wait, the grave is mine house; rather,…
If I wait, the grave is mine house; rather, surely I look for the grave (Sheol) as my house; i.e. I expect no return of prosperity, no renewal of life in a sumptuous mansion, no recovery of the state and dignity from which I have fallen I look only for Sheol as my future abode and resting-place -there, in Sheol, I have made my bed in the darkness; i.e. I regard myself as already there, lying on my narrow bed in the darkness, at rest after my afflictions.
Vers. 13-16. The darkened hope.
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Sad indeed is the hope which is attained only in the grave, which has no clear vision beyond. Unillumined, uncheered, it has no brightness, no comfort. All that Job seems at present to hope for is the silence, the darkness, the rest, of the grave. There certainly does not dawn upon him file clear light of the future; at least the assurance of it is not declared in his words. It is the grave, the grave, and the grave only. Contemplate the condition of such as have this hope only.
I NO LIGHT IS CAST UPON LIFE"S DARKNESS. Job"s condition one of extreme sadness. He bears up with much bravery; but when his spirit is sorely pressed he buries his thoughts in the tomb. "I have made my bed in the darkness." No light comes from these dark shades to make brighter life"s gloom. "The grave," "darkness," "corruption," "the worm," "the bars of the pit," "the dust to these Job is reduced; he cannot rise above them. No ray of light can come thence to make his present path brighter.
II THIS HOPE GIVES NO EASE IN LIFE"S SORROWS. It awakens no holy emotion. It is a gloomy despair. Life ends in a tomb. The purposes of life are broken off with the ending of the day. Pain may cease then; but no ease comes thence to the afflicted one. To cry "father," "mother," "sister," to the worm and to corruption has no element of cheerfulness in it, no inspiration of brightening hope to relieve the gloomy sorrowfulness of the present. Such a future could not be anticipated but with the uttermost dread and abhorrence save by one pressed out of mind by the severity of his present afflictions.
III SUCH A HOPE IS INSUFFICIENT, INCOMPLETE, UNSATISFYING. It leaves the soul with an unfilled void. In its incompleteness and unsatisfying character it points to the necessity for a better and Brighter hope. Human life lacks a harvest in the absence of something brighter than this. For the best life to go down into the grave as its final condition seems so anomalous that everywhere the longing for a brighter condition exists.
IV SUCH A HOPE STANDS IN CONTRAST TO THE CLEAR, COMFORTING, ASSURED HOPE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. Life and immortality had not been brought fully to light when these gloomy words were written. It remained for the perfect revelation and the all-perfect Revealer to make known the brightness of that future which awaits the godly. Israel held possession of the hope of the resurrection; but it is part of the skilfulness of the teaching in this book that anything short of a fully assured immortality of Blessedness is insufficient to meet the utmost requirements of the human soul. R.G.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv13, 15If I wait, the grave is mine house.
Job_17:13
If I wait, the grave is mine house.
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The house of the grave
I. Describe the house.
1. The grave is a very spacious house.
2. It is very dark and dreary.
3. It is a house of silence. It is empty.
4. It is the house of corruption.
5. It is the house of oblivion.
II. All men are going to this house.
1. This lot is ours by the appointment of God.
2. Ever since God appointed death, He has been carrying mankind to the grave in a constant and uninterrupted succession.
3. We not only see the mortality in others, but feel it coming upon ourselves.
III. Why we should keep this serious truth in mind.
1. Because God requires men to keep their mortality in view.
2. God takes many methods to impress this important truth upon mens hearts.
3. It is necessary in order to their forming all their worldly schemes with wisdom and propriety.
4. In order to form a just estimate of the world and its inhabitants.
5. In order to prepare them to endure the trials and afflictions of the present life with patience and fortitude.
6. It will have a direct tendency to prepare men for death when it comes. Improvement. Every way of thinking and acting is sinful, which tends to banish the thoughts of death from our minds. (N. Emmons, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v16Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5")
grave
Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5")
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv13, 16General Information:
General Information:
Job continues to speak.
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If the only home ... and if I have spread ... and if I have said
All instances of "if" here have the meaning of "since"; Job is speaking as if all these things were true. "Since the only home ... and since I have spread ... and since I have said" (See: Hypothetical Situations)
have spread my couch in the darkness
Here Job speaks of being prepared to die as having laid his bed in the darkness. AT: "have prepared myself to go and sleep among the dead" (See: Metaphor)
have spread my couch
"have made my bed"
I have said to the pit ... and to the worm
These two lines are a variation to each other and are used together to emphasize how desperate Job is. (See: Parallelism)
the pit
"the grave"
You are my father
Job speaks of the closeness he will soon have with his grave by comparing it to the closeness a man has with his father. AT: "You are as close to me as my father" or "When I am buried, you will be as close to me as a father" (See: Metaphor)
the worm
"the maggot." Worms are the small creatures that eat dead bodies.
You are my mother or my sister
Job speaks of the closeness he will soon have with the worms in his grave by comparing it to the closeness a man has with his mother and sisters. AT: "You are as close to me as my mother or my sister" or "You will be as close to me as a mother or sister" (See: Metaphor)
where then is my hope?
The implicit answer is "nowhere," because he has no hope. This rhetorical question can be written as a statement. AT: "I have no hope." (See: Rhetorical Question)
As for my hope, who can see any?
This rhetorical question is used to emphasize that that no one expects him to have any hope. This question can be written as a statement. AT: "No one can see any hope for me." or "No one expects me to have any more hope." (See: Rhetorical Question)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 16 Though I should hope to come from adversity to…
Though I should hope to come from adversity to prosperity, as your discourse pretendeth.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv13–16 Job 17:13 If I wait, the grave [is] mine…
Job 17:13 If I wait, the grave [is] mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.
Ver. 13. If I wait, the grave is mine house] In that congregation house of all living (as it is called, Job 30:23) both I and my hopes must be suddenly lodged. Some render it thus, If I build, the grave is my house. Solomon calleth it, The house of eternity, Ecc 12:5. And the Egyptians accordingly call graves everlasting houses, as Siculus saith, lib. i.
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I have made my bed in darkness] The grave was Job’s house, and therein he had made his bed to rest from his labours. There men follow their works no more, because followed by their works, Rev 14:13.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv13–16 If I wait; if I should give way to…
If I wait; if I should give way to those hopes of my deliverance and restoration which you suggest to me.
The grave is mine house: I should be sadly disappointed; for I am upon the borders of the grave, which is the only house appointed for me, instead of that goodly house which you promise to me here upon condition of my repentance.
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I have made my bed in darkness; I expect no other rest but in the dark grave, for which therefore I prepare myself.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv13–16 If I wait, the grave is mine house,.... Not…
If I wait, the grave is mine house,.... Not that Job put an "if" upon, or made a doubt of waiting upon God in private or public; or of waiting for him, his gracious appearances to him, answers of prayer, performance of promises, and deliverance out of trouble; and especially of waiting his appointed time till his change came, and hoping and expecting eternal life and happiness; all which he determined to do, and did, see Job 13:15; but he says this with respect to the advice of his friends, which should it be taken, the issue of would be no other than what he here suggests; they had intimated, that if he repented and reformed, he might hope for and expect a peaceable tabernacle, and a prosperous habitation, a line house, and affluent circumstances, Job 5:24. Now, says he, should I listen to this, and endeavour to cherish some hope and expectation of small things, and put myself in a waiting posture for them, alas! how soon would it be over, for what other house can I rationally expect but the grave? and this is what I have upon; I think of no other house than that, which is man's long home, the house appointed for all living; there I shall dwell, and make my abode until the morning of the resurrection, and I look for no other; and if I should, I am well assured! should be disappointed:
I have made my bed in the darkness: in the dark grave, where the light of the body is extinct, and where the light of the sun comes not; in houses there are various apartments, some for work and business, as is the shop; others for eating and drinking, as the dining room; and others for sleep and rest, as the bedchamber; now in the house of the grave there is no mention of any but the latter; for there is no work and device in the grave, nor eating and drinking there; but it is a bed where the weary saint lies down and rests upon from all his toil and labour, until he awakes at the resurrection: now Job had settled the matter with himself, he had laid it out in his own mind, and taken a kind of pleasure in the prospect of it; that he had got a house to move into, when he was dislodged from the earthly house of his tabernacle, and where he had made himself, in his own thought, an easy bed, on which he should lay his weary limbs, and take his sleep and rest, until the heavens be no more.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv13–16 Wait - For deliverance, I should be disappointed; for…
Wait - For deliverance, I should be disappointed; for I am upon the borders of the grave, I expect no rest but in the dark grave, for which therefore I prepare myself. I endeavour to make it easy, by keeping my conscience pure, by seeing Christ lying in this bed, (so turning it into a bed of spices) and by looking beyond it to the resurrection.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv13–16 Verse 13. The grave is mine house] Let my…
Verse 13. The grave is mine house] Let my life be long or short, the grave at last will be my home. I expect soon to lie down in darkness - there is my end: I cannot reasonably hope for any thing else.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 16 Job 17:13. If I wait, the grave is my…
Job 17:13. If I wait, the grave is my house — Hebrew, אם אקוה, im akaveh, If I eagerly desire and expect any thing now, it is the grave, the only habitation I can promise myself; and which I am just entering. There I am going to rest in a bed where I shall not be disturbed, for which therefore I am preparing myself. In all situations, and amidst all changes, we should keep the grave in view, the bed in which we are shortly to lie, and, by preparation for it, should endeavour to make it easy, namely, by securing peace with God, by keeping our consciences pure, by seeing Christ lying in this bed, and so turning it into a bed of spices, and by looking beyond it to the resurrection.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv13–16 If I wait - Or more accurately, “truly I…
If I wait - Or more accurately, “truly I expect that the grave will be my home.” The word rendered “if” (אם 'ı̂m) is often used in such a sense. The meaning is, “I look certainly to the grave as my home. I have made up my mind to it, and have no other expectation.”
The grave - Hebrew שׁאול she'ôl. It may mean here either the grave, or the region of departed spirits, to which he expected soon to descend.
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Mine house - My home; my permanent abode.
I have made my bed - I am certain of making my bed there. I shall soon lie down there.
In the darkness - In the grave, or in the dark world to which it leads; see the notes at Job 10:21-22.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv13–16 Hell. Seol. The region of the dead. (Challoner) ---…
Hell. Seol. The region of the dead. (Challoner) --- Protestants, "grave." (Haydock) --- But this text proves that there was a place of rest called hell. (Worthington) --- He speaks here chiefly of the body. (Calmet) --- Mors ultima linea rerum est. (Horace) --- "Death is the end of all." (Haydock) --- If I refrain from complaining, still I cannot expect to be restored to health.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv13–16 Rather, "if I wait for this grave (Sheol, or…
Rather, "if I wait for this grave (Sheol, or the unseen world) as my house, and make my bed in the darkness (Job 17:14), and say to corruption," rather, "to the pit" or "grave," &c. (Job 17:15). Where then is my hope? [UMBREIT]. The apodosis is at Job 17:15.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 16 13. If I wait — Lo, I wait my…
13. If I wait — Lo, I wait my abode, (sheol.)
House — The ancient Egyptians designated the tomb as their house. (See note Job_3:15.)
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Made my bed — Spread my couch. Aristobulus saw in the tomb of Cyrus a golden couch, a table with cups, a golden coffin, and a large quantity of garments ornamented with precious stones. (Strabo, xv, chap. Job_3:7.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv13–16 13. If I wait, the grave] Rather as above.…
13. If I wait, the grave] Rather as above. The grave is in Heb. Sheol, the place of the departed. The word wait is the same as hope, Job_17:15.
13–15. The natural sense and connexion of these verses is as follows:
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13. If I wait for the grave as mine house;
If I have spread my bed in the darkness;
14. If I have said to the pit, thou art my father,
To the worm, thou art my mother, and my sister:
15. Where then is my hope?
And as for my hope, who shall see it?
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v16 (16) They shall go down to the bars of…
(16) They shall go down to the bars of the pit.—The last verse of this chapter, which is itself one of the most difficult, is the most difficult of all. The difficulty consists in this: the bars of the grave are masculine, and the verb, they shall go down, is feminine plural; it seems improbable that the bars of the grave should be the subject of the verb (though perhaps not absolutely impossible); but if the bars of the grave are the place to which the going down is, as in the Authorised Version, then what is the subject to the verb, go down, seeing that hope, the apparent subject, is a feminine singular? Some render “it shall go down,” but this is in defiance of the grammar, though, probably, the meaning it conveys is not far from the truth. The words clearly express a condition of utter despair, and that Job’s only hope of rest is in the grave. It is a rule in Hebrew grammar that when the verb precedes its subject it need not agree with it in gender or number; but here the verb must, at all events, come after its subject, and consequently, it is very difficult to determine what that subject is. The only apparent subject is to be found in the corruption of the worm of Job_17:14; but they, instead of going down to the grave, are already there.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv13–16 If I wait, the grave is mine house; rather,…
If I wait, the grave is mine house; rather, surely I look for the grave (Sheol) as my house; i.e. I expect no return of prosperity, no renewal of life in a sumptuous mansion, no recovery of the state and dignity from which I have fallen I look only for Sheol as my future abode and resting-place -there, in Sheol, I have made my bed in the darkness; i.e. I regard myself as already there, lying on my narrow bed in the darkness, at rest after my afflictions.
Vers. 13-16. The darkened hope.
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Sad indeed is the hope which is attained only in the grave, which has no clear vision beyond. Unillumined, uncheered, it has no brightness, no comfort. All that Job seems at present to hope for is the silence, the darkness, the rest, of the grave. There certainly does not dawn upon him file clear light of the future; at least the assurance of it is not declared in his words. It is the grave, the grave, and the grave only. Contemplate the condition of such as have this hope only.
I NO LIGHT IS CAST UPON LIFE"S DARKNESS. Job"s condition one of extreme sadness. He bears up with much bravery; but when his spirit is sorely pressed he buries his thoughts in the tomb. "I have made my bed in the darkness." No light comes from these dark shades to make brighter life"s gloom. "The grave," "darkness," "corruption," "the worm," "the bars of the pit," "the dust to these Job is reduced; he cannot rise above them. No ray of light can come thence to make his present path brighter.
II THIS HOPE GIVES NO EASE IN LIFE"S SORROWS. It awakens no holy emotion. It is a gloomy despair. Life ends in a tomb. The purposes of life are broken off with the ending of the day. Pain may cease then; but no ease comes thence to the afflicted one. To cry "father," "mother," "sister," to the worm and to corruption has no element of cheerfulness in it, no inspiration of brightening hope to relieve the gloomy sorrowfulness of the present. Such a future could not be anticipated but with the uttermost dread and abhorrence save by one pressed out of mind by the severity of his present afflictions.
III SUCH A HOPE IS INSUFFICIENT, INCOMPLETE, UNSATISFYING. It leaves the soul with an unfilled void. In its incompleteness and unsatisfying character it points to the necessity for a better and Brighter hope. Human life lacks a harvest in the absence of something brighter than this. For the best life to go down into the grave as its final condition seems so anomalous that everywhere the longing for a brighter condition exists.
IV SUCH A HOPE STANDS IN CONTRAST TO THE CLEAR, COMFORTING, ASSURED HOPE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. Life and immortality had not been brought fully to light when these gloomy words were written. It remained for the perfect revelation and the all-perfect Revealer to make known the brightness of that future which awaits the godly. Israel held possession of the hope of the resurrection; but it is part of the skilfulness of the teaching in this book that anything short of a fully assured immortality of Blessedness is insufficient to meet the utmost requirements of the human soul. R.G.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv13, 15 If I wait, the grave is mine house.
Job_17:13
If I wait, the grave is mine house.
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The house of the grave
I. Describe the house.
1. The grave is a very spacious house.
2. It is very dark and dreary.
3. It is a house of silence. It is empty.
4. It is the house of corruption.
5. It is the house of oblivion.
II. All men are going to this house.
1. This lot is ours by the appointment of God.
2. Ever since God appointed death, He has been carrying mankind to the grave in a constant and uninterrupted succession.
3. We not only see the mortality in others, but feel it coming upon ourselves.
III. Why we should keep this serious truth in mind.
1. Because God requires men to keep their mortality in view.
2. God takes many methods to impress this important truth upon mens hearts.
3. It is necessary in order to their forming all their worldly schemes with wisdom and propriety.
4. In order to form a just estimate of the world and its inhabitants.
5. In order to prepare them to endure the trials and afflictions of the present life with patience and fortitude.
6. It will have a direct tendency to prepare men for death when it comes. Improvement. Every way of thinking and acting is sinful, which tends to banish the thoughts of death from our minds. (N. Emmons, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v16 Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5")
grave
Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5")
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13, 16 General Information:
General Information:
Job continues to speak.
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If the only home ... and if I have spread ... and if I have said
All instances of "if" here have the meaning of "since"; Job is speaking as if all these things were true. "Since the only home ... and since I have spread ... and since I have said" (See: Hypothetical Situations)
have spread my couch in the darkness
Here Job speaks of being prepared to die as having laid his bed in the darkness. AT: "have prepared myself to go and sleep among the dead" (See: Metaphor)
have spread my couch
"have made my bed"
I have said to the pit ... and to the worm
These two lines are a variation to each other and are used together to emphasize how desperate Job is. (See: Parallelism)
the pit
"the grave"
You are my father
Job speaks of the closeness he will soon have with his grave by comparing it to the closeness a man has with his father. AT: "You are as close to me as my father" or "When I am buried, you will be as close to me as a father" (See: Metaphor)
the worm
"the maggot." Worms are the small creatures that eat dead bodies.
You are my mother or my sister
Job speaks of the closeness he will soon have with the worms in his grave by comparing it to the closeness a man has with his mother and sisters. AT: "You are as close to me as my mother or my sister" or "You will be as close to me as a mother or sister" (See: Metaphor)
where then is my hope?
The implicit answer is "nowhere," because he has no hope. This rhetorical question can be written as a statement. AT: "I have no hope." (See: Rhetorical Question)
As for my hope, who can see any?
This rhetorical question is used to emphasize that that no one expects him to have any hope. This question can be written as a statement. AT: "No one can see any hope for me." or "No one expects me to have any more hope." (See: Rhetorical Question)
translationWords
Hades
darkness
hope
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13, 14, 16 17:13 to the grave (Hebrew to Sheol): The realm…
17:13 to the grave (Hebrew to Sheol): The realm of the dead was visualized as a house (30:23; Ps 49:11; Eccl 12:5).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.