TRV
Translation
Complete Jewish Bible
or with princes who had [plenty of] gold, who filled their houses with silver.
World English Bible Messianic
or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver:
Geneva Bible (1599)
Or with the princes that had golde, and haue filled their houses with siluer.
Young's Literal Translation
Or with princes--they have gold, They are filling their houses with silver.
See on the biblical-era map
In the KJVVerse 12,920 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Job 3 verses 11–19
11 ¶ Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?
12 Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?
13 For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,
14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;
15 Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:
16 Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.
17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.
18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.
19 The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points
Job, perhaps reflecting upon himself for his folly in wishing he had never been born, follows it, and thinks to mend it, with another, little better, that he had died as soon as he was born, which he enlarges upon in these verses. When our Saviour would set forth a very calamitous state of things he seems to allow such a saying as this, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the paps which never gave suck (Luk 23:29); but blessing the barren womb is one thing and cursing the fruitful womb is another! It is good to make the best of afflictions, but it is not good to make the worst of mercies. Our rule is, Bless, and curse not. Life is often put for all good, and death for all evil; yet Job here very absurdly complains of life and its supports as a curse and plague to him, and covets death and the grave as the greatest and most desirable bliss. Surely Satan was deceived in Job when he applied that maxim to him, All that a man hath will he give for his life; for never any man valued life at a lower rate than he did.
I. He ungratefully quarrels with life, and is angry that it was not taken from him as soon as it was given him (Job 3:11, Job 3:12): Why died not I from the womb? See here, 1. What a weak and helpless creature man is when he comes into the world, and how slender the thread of life is when it is first drawn. We are ready to die from the womb, and to breathe our last as soon as we begin to breathe at all. We can do nothing for ourselves, as other creatures can, but should drop into the grave if the knees did not prevent us; and the lamp of life, when first lighted, would go out of itself if the breasts given us, that we should suck, did not supply it with fresh oil. 2. What a merciful and tender care divine Providence took of us at our entrance into the world. It was owing to this that we died not from the womb and did not give up the ghost when we came out of the belly. Why were we not cut off as soon as we were born? Not because we did not deserve it. Justly might such weeds have been plucked up as soon as they appeared; justly might such cockatrices have been crushed in the egg. Nor was it because we did, or could, take any care of ourselves and our own safety: no creature comes into the world so shiftless as man. It was not our might, or the power of our hand, that preserved us these beings, but God's power and providence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. It was owing to this that the knees prevented us. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by the hand of the God of nature: and hence it was that the blessings of the breast attended those of the womb. 3. What a great deal of vanity and vexation of spirit attends human life. If we had not a God to serve in this world, and better things to hope for in another world, considering the faculties we are endued with and the troubles we are surrounded with, we should be strongly tempted to wish that we had died from the womb, which would have prevented a great deal both of sin and misery.
He that is born today, and dies tomorrow,
Loses some hours of joy, but months of sorrow.
4.The evil of impatience, fretfulness, and discontent. When they thus prevail they are unreasonable and absurd, impious and ungrateful. To indulge them is a slighting and undervaluing of God's favour. How much soever life is embittered, we must say, "It was of the Lord's mercies that we died not from the womb, that we were not consumed." Hatred of life is a contradiction to the common sense and sentiments of mankind, and to our own at any other time. Let discontented people declaim ever so much against life, they will be loth to part with it when it comes to the point. When the old man in the fable, being tired with his burden, threw it down with discontent and called for Death, and Death came to him and asked him what he would have with him, he then answered, "Nothing, but to help me up with my burden."
II. He passionately applauds death and the grave, and seems quite in love with them. To desire to die that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, and that we may be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, is the effect and evidence of grace; but to desire to die only that we may be quiet in the grave, and delivered from the troubles of this life, savours of corruption. Job's considerations here may be of good use to reconcile us to death when it comes, and to make us easy under the arrest of it; but they ought not to be made use of as a pretence to quarrel with life while it is continued, or to make us uneasy under the burdens of it. It is our wisdom and duty to make the best of that which is, be it living or dying, and so to live to the Lord and die to the Lord, and to be his in both, Rom 14:8. Job here frets himself with thinking that if he had but died as soon as he was born, and been carried from the womb to the grave, 1. His condition would have been as good as that of the best: I would have been (says he, Job 3:14) with kings and counsellors of the earth, whose pomp, power, and policy, cannot set them out of the reach of death, nor secure them from the grave, nor distinguish theirs from common dust in the grave. Even princes, who had gold in abundance, could not with it bribe Death to overlook them when he came with commission; and, though they filled their houses with silver, yet they were forced to leave it all behind them, no more to return to it. Some, by the desolate places which the kings and counsellors are here said to build for themselves, understand the sepulchres or monuments they prepared for themselves in their life-time; as Shebna (Isa 22:16) hewed himself out a sepulchre; and by the gold which the princes had, and the silver with which they filled their houses, they understand the treasures which, they say, it was usual to deposit in the graves of great men. Such arts have been used to preserve their dignity, if possible, on the other side death, and to keep themselves from lying even with those of inferior rank; but it will not do: death is, and will be, an irresistible leveller. Mors sceptra ligonibus aequat - Death mingles sceptres with spades. Rich and poor meet together in the grave; and there a hidden untimely birth (Job 3:16), a child that either never saw light or but just opened its eyes and peeped into the world, and, not liking it, closed them again and hastened out of it, lies as soft and easy, lies as high and safe, as kings and counsellors, and princes, that had gold. "And therefore," says Job, "would I had lain there in the dust, rather than to lie here in the ashes!" 2. His condition would have been much better than now it was (Job 3:13): "Then should I have lain still, and been quiet, which now I cannot do, I cannot be, but am still tossing and unquiet; then I should have slept, whereas now sleep departeth from my eyes; then had I been at rest, whereas now I am restless." Now that life and immortality are brought to a much clearer light by the gospel than before they were placed in good Christians can give a better account than this of the gain of death: "Then should I have been present with the Lord; then should I have seen his glory face to face, and no longer through a glass darkly." But all that poor Job dreamed of was rest and quietness in the grave out of the fear of evil tidings and out of the feeling of sore boils. Then should I have been quiet; and had he kept his temper, his even easy temper still, which he was in as recorded in the two foregoing chapters, entirely resigned to the holy will of God and acquiescing in it, he might have been quiet now; his soul, at least, might have dwelt at ease, even when his body lay in pain, Psa 25:13. Observe how finely he describes the repose of the grave, which (provided the soul also be at rest in God) may much assist our triumphs over it. (1.) Those that now are troubled will there be out of the reach of trouble (Job 3:17): There the wicked cease from troubling. When persecutors die they can no longer persecute; their hatred and envy will then perish. Herod had vexed the church, but, when he became a prey for worms, he ceased from troubling. When the persecuted die they are out of the danger of being any further troubled. Had Job been at rest in his grave, he would have had no disturbance from the Sabeans and Chaldeans, none of all his enemies would have created him any trouble. (2.) Those that are now toiled will there see the period of their toils. There the weary are at rest. Heaven is more than a rest to the souls of the saints, but the grave is a rest to their bodies. Their pilgrimage is a weary pilgrimage; sin and the world they are weary of; their services, sufferings, and expectations, they are wearied with; but in the grave they rest from all their labours, Rev 14:13; Isa 57:2. They are easy there, and make no complaints; there believers sleep in Jesus. (3.) Those that were here enslaved are there at liberty. Death is the prisoner's discharge, the relief of the oppressed, and the servant's manumission (Job 3:18): There the prisoners, though they walk not at large, yet they rest together, and are not put to work, to grind in that prison-house. They are no more insulted and trampled upon, menaced and terrified, by their cruel task-masters: They hear not the voice of the oppressor. Those that were here doomed to perpetual servitude, that could call nothing their own, no, not their own bodies, are there no longer under command or control: There the servant is free from his master, which is a good reason why those that have power should use it moderately, and those that are in subjection should bear it patiently, yet a little while. (4.) Those that were at a vast distance from others are there upon a level (Job 3:19): The small and great are there, there the same, there all one, all alike free among the dead. The tedious pomp and state which attend the great are at an end there. All the inconveniences of a poor and low condition are likewise over; death and the grave know no difference.
Levelled by death, the conqueror and the slave,
The wise and foolish, cowards and the brave,
Lie mixed and undistinguished in the grave.
- Sir R. Blackmore
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 11–19. Public domain.
Copy as
John ChrysostomAD 407
COMMENTARY ON JOB 3:20-23
It seems to me that Job attempts to humble these noble characters and to persuade them not to attach a great importance to human affairs, because he has not introduced the kings into this passage without purpose or at random. Job speaks of “those who gloried in their swords.” Notice again how amid his afflictions Job possesses words full of wisdom. Their wealth, in fact, has granted the kings no protection; their power has been of no use; death has come at the end for everyone. “Or like a stillborn child that never sees the light,” he says. Notice how, in order that he may not appear to be arrogant, he even compares himself with a stillborn child, so absolutely wretched and pitiful is he.
Gregory the DialogistAD 604
61. Whom does he call princes, but the rulers of holy Church, whom the Divine economy substitutes without intermission in the room of their predecessors? Concerning these the Psalmist, speaking to the same Church, says, Instead of thy fathers thou hast children born to thee, whom thou mayest make princes in all lands. [Ps. 45, 16] And what does he call gold, saving wisdom; of which Solomon saith, A treasure to be desired lieth at rest in the mouth of the wise? [Prov. 21, 20] That is, he saw wisdom as gold, and therefore called it a treasure: and she is well designated by the name of ‘gold,’ for that, as temporal goods are purchased with gold, so are eternal blessings with wisdom. If wisdom had not been gold, it would never have been said by the Angel to the Church [p] of Laodicea, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire. For we ‘buy ourselves gold,’ when we pay obedience first, to get wisdom in exchange, and it is to this very bargain that a certain wise man rightly stimulates us, in these words, If thou desire wisdom, keep the commandments, and the Lord shall give her unto thee. [Ecclus. 1, 26] And what is signified by the ‘houses,’ but our consciences? Hence it is said to one that was healed, Go unto thine house. [Matt. 9, 16] As though he had heard in plain words, ‘After the outward miracles, turn back into thine own conscience, and weigh well what kind of person within thou shouldest show thyself before God.’ And what too is represented by silver but the divine revelations, of which the Psalmist says, The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the fire? [Ps 12, 6] The word of the Lord is said to be like silver tried in the fire, because God's word, when it is fixed in the heart, is tried with afflictions.
62. Let the holy man then, full of the Spirit of Eternity, both sum up the things that shall be, and gather together in the open bosom of his mind all those, whom ages long after should give birth to, and consider with wonder and astonishment those Elect souls, with whom he would be enjoying rest in life eternal without the weariness of labour, had none ever been led into sin by the passion of pride, and let him say, For now should I have lain still and been quiet; I should have slept; then had I been at rest with kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves, or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver. For as, if no decay of sin had ever ruined our first parent, he would not have begotten of himself children of hell, but they all, who must now be saved by the Redemption, would have been born of him Elect souls, and none else, let him look at these, and reflect how he might have been at rest in their company. Let him see the holy Apostles so ruling the Church they had undertaken, that they never ceased to give it counsel by the word of preaching, and so call them kings and counsellors. After these let him behold rulers arise in their room, who by living according to wisdom should have gold, and by preaching right ways to others should shine with the silver of sacred discourse, and let him call them real princes, the houses of whose conscience are full of gold and silver. But as it is not enough sometimes for the Spirit of Prophecy to foresee future events, unless at the same time it presents to the view of the prophet the past and by-gone, the holy man opens his eyes below and above, and not only fixes them on the future, but also recalls to mind the past.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as
Continue studying Job 3:15 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Job 3:15 captures a poignant moment in Job's profound lament, expressing his desperate wish to have died at birth. In this verse, Job envisions himself at peace in the grave, sharing the ultimate rest with even the most powerful and affluent figures of his era. Having been stripped of his children, vast wealth, and health, Job starkly contrasts his unbearable suffering with the imagined tranquility of death, where "princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver" find no advantage in their earthly riches but are leveled by the universal dominion of the grave. This powerful imagery underscores death as the ultimate equalizer, dissolving all worldly distinctions and highlighting the profound vanity of material possessions in the face of eternity.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 3:15 employs several powerful literary devices to convey its profound message about the nature of death and the vanity of earthly possessions. Irony is a prominent feature, as Job, a man utterly stripped of all his wealth, status, and comfort, expresses a desperate wish to be equated in death with "princes" who were once overflowing with vast riches. The poignant irony lies in the fact that their immense material possessions, which defined their lives and status, are rendered utterly meaningless and provide no advantage whatsoever in the grave, where they share the very same undifferentiated fate as the destitute. Hyperbole is clearly evident in the phrase "filled their houses with silver," a deliberate exaggeration of the princes' wealth designed to emphasize their extraordinary affluence and, by extension, the absolute and inescapable leveling power of death. This vivid imagery of overflowing gold and silver creates a powerful mental picture of extreme prosperity, making the subsequent point about its ultimate vanity all the more impactful and stark. Finally, the verse relies heavily on contrast—the stark juxtaposition between the princes' former lives of opulent abundance and their current state of quietude and powerlessness in death, where their riches provide absolutely no benefit. This powerful contrast serves to highlight the central and recurring theme of death as the great equalizer of all humanity.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 3:15 serves as a profound theological statement regarding the universal reality of human mortality and the inherently transient nature of earthly power and wealth. It delivers a stark reminder that despite all human striving for accumulation, status, and security, death remains the ultimate equalizer, stripping away all distinctions and reducing all humanity to the same state of dust. This perspective powerfully challenges the common human tendency to find ultimate security, identity, and meaning in material possessions or societal standing, asserting that such foundations are ultimately fleeting, illusory, and incapable of providing lasting peace. The verse implicitly, yet powerfully, points to humanity's deep-seated need for a hope and a value system that fundamentally transcends the grave, one that is not dependent on the perishable things of this world but anchored in eternal realities.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job's poignant lament in Job 3:15 offers a sobering yet profoundly liberating perspective for contemporary life. In a world often relentlessly driven by the pursuit of wealth, societal status, and material accumulation, this verse serves as a powerful and urgent reminder to critically re-evaluate our fundamental priorities. It challenges each of us to deeply consider what truly holds lasting, enduring value beyond the fleeting and ephemeral realities of earthly existence. Are we, as individuals and as a society, primarily investing our time, energy, and resources in what is eternal—our spiritual well-being, the cultivation of meaningful relationships, the development of Christ-like character, and our dedicated service to God and others—or are we predominantly focused on amassing possessions that will inevitably be left behind at the grave? Job's profound anguish, which leads him to desire the undifferentiated peace of the grave, also cultivates within us a vital sense of empathy. It compels us to approach those who are experiencing deep suffering, particularly those who express a longing for an end to their pain, with genuine compassion, understanding, and a recognition of the overwhelming nature of their distress. Ultimately, while Job's pre-Messianic hope was limited to the quietude of the grave, his lament implicitly points to humanity's deep-seated, universal need for a hope that truly transcends death, a hope that offers not just cessation of pain, but true and eternal peace.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does Job 3:15 condemn wealth or rich people?
Answer: No, Job 3:15 does not inherently condemn wealth or rich people. Instead, its primary purpose is to serve as a profound commentary on the futility and powerlessness of earthly wealth in the face of death. Job's poignant point is that no amount of accumulated gold or silver, no matter how vast or impressive, can ultimately prevent death or offer any lasting advantage in the grave. The "princes who filled their houses with silver" are presented as the quintessential example of those who possessed everything by worldly standards—power, prestige, and immense material riches—yet they are just as subject to death's universal dominion as anyone else. The verse powerfully highlights death as the ultimate equalizer, stripping away all earthly distinctions and possessions. It serves as a stark reminder that true peace, security, and lasting value cannot be found in perishable material riches, a timeless biblical theme echoed throughout Scripture, such as in Matthew 6:19-21, where Jesus encourages His followers to lay up treasures in heaven rather than on earth, where they are subject to decay and theft.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Job's lament in Job 3:15 expresses a profound longing for rest and equality in the grave—a hope naturally limited by his pre-Messianic understanding—the ultimate and glorious fulfillment of this deep human longing is found exclusively in Jesus Christ. Job desired the passive peace of death, where the distinctions of wealth and power vanished, and suffering ceased. However, Christ offers a peace that radically transcends the grave, not merely the absence of pain in Sheol, but the vibrant, active reality of resurrection life. The leveling effect of death that Job keenly observes—where princes and paupers share the same dust—is profoundly transformed in Christ into a new, spiritual equality, not in common demise, but in a shared resurrection hope and the promise of eternal life for all who believe, regardless of their earthly status, as profoundly declared in Galatians 3:28. Jesus, who declared Himself to be the resurrection and the life, definitively conquered death, rendering its sting powerless and its victory hollow, as triumphantly proclaimed in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57. He redefines true wealth, not as perishable gold and silver that merely fill houses, but as the imperishable, eternal spiritual riches found in Him, which far surpass all earthly gain, as articulated by Paul in Philippians 3:7-8. Thus, Job's desperate wish for rest in the quiet grave is ultimately fulfilled in the vibrant, eternal rest and perfect peace that believers find in the glorious presence of the Lamb of God, where all tears are wiped away, and suffering is definitively no more.