Job 3:7

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 3:7 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Lo, let that night be barren; Let no joyful voice come therein.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Lo, let that night be barren; Let no joyful voice come therein.
Job 3:7 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 3

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
7Lo, let that night be barren; Let no joyful voice come therein.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Lo, let that night be solitary, etc.] Let there be no company for journeys, or doing any business; no meetings of friends, neighbours, or relations on it, for refreshment, pleasure, and recreation, after the business of the day is over, as is frequently done; let there be no associations of this kind, or any other: in the night it was usual to have feasts on various accounts, and especially on account of marriage; but now let there be none, let there be as profound a silence as if all creatures, men and beasts, were dead, and removed from off the face of the earth, and nothing to be heard and seen on it: or, “let it be barren” or “desolate” f104, so R. Simeon bar Tzemach interprets it, and…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“solitary--rather, "unfruitful." "Would that it had not given birth to me."”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Lo, let that night be solitary - Dr. Good, “O! that night! Let it be a barren rock!” Noyes, “O let that night be unfruitful!” Herder, “Let that night be set apart by itself.” The Hebrew word used here גלמוּד galmûd means properly “hard;” then sterile, barren, as of a hard and rocky soil. It does not mean properly solitary, but that which is unproductive and unfruitful. It is used of a woman who is barren, Isaiah 49:21, and also of that which is lean, famished, emaciated with hunger; Job 15:34; Job 30:3. According to this it means that that should be a night in which none would be born - a night of loneliness and desolation. According to Jerome, it means that the night should be solitary,…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“solitary: Isa 13:20-22, Isa 24:8; Jer 7:34; Rev 18:22, Rev 18:23 Job 3:8”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification