Job 36:20

“Desire not the night, etc.] Either in a literal sense, which Job might do; not for secrecy to commit sin, as the thief, murderer, and adulterer do; Elihu had no such suspicion of Job; nor for ease and rest, which he expected not; nor would his sores admit thereof; his nights were wearisome, and when come he wished they were gone, (<180702>Job 7:2-4); but either for retirement, that he might muse and consider, and endeavour to search and find out the reason of God’s dealing with men, in cutting off sometimes such great numbers together. Elihu suggests, that such a search was altogether vain and to no purpose; he would never be able to find out the reason of these things: or rather for shelter…”

“Desire--pant for. Job had wished for death (Job 3:3-9, &c.). night-- (Joh 9:4). when--rather, "whereby." cut off--literally, "ascend," as the corn cut and lifted upon the wagon or stack (Job 36:26); so "cut off," "disappear." in their place--literally, "under themselves"; so, without moving from their place, on the spot, suddenly (Job 40:12) [MAURER]. UMBREIT'S translation: "To ascend (which is really, as thou wilt find to thy cost, to descend) to the people below" (literally, "under themselves"), answers better to the parallelism and the Hebrew. Thou pantest for death as desirable, but it is a "night" or region of darkness; thy fancied ascent (amelioration) will prove a descent…”

“Desire not the night - That is, evidently, “the night of death.” The darkness of the night is an emblem of death, and it is not uncommon to speak of death in this manner; see John 9:4, “The night cometh, when no man can work.” Elihu seems to have supposed that Job might have looked forward to death as to a time of release; that so far from “dreading” what he had said would come, that God would cut him off at a stroke, it might be the very thing which he desired, and which he anticipated would be an end of his sufferings. Indeed Job had more than once expressed some such sentiment, and Elihu designs to meet that state of mind, and to charge him not to look forward to death as relief. If his…”

“The night - The night of death, which Job had often desired, for then, thou art irrecoverably gone: take heed of thy foolish and often repeated desire of death, lest God inflict it upon thee in anger. Job 36:21”

“Desire: Job 3:20, Job 3:21, Job 6:9, Job 7:15, Job 14:13, Job 17:13, Job 17:14 cut: Exo 12:29; Kg2 19:35; Pro 14:32; Ecc 11:3; Dan 5:30; Luk 12:20; Act 1:25; Th1 5:2, Th1 5:3 Job 36:21”