Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 3:17
There the wicked cease [from] troubling; and there the weary be at rest.
17. cease from troubling ] That is, probably, not from troubling others, but from the unquiet of their own evil. Job 3:17-19 contain the two main ideas, first, that all, evil and good, great and small, are the same in the place of the dead; and second, that this common condition is one of profound rest. Even the wicked there are no more agitated by the turbulence of their passions. Comp. Isa 57:20.
the weary ] lit. the wearied as to strength, the exhausted.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
There the wicked cease – from troubling. In the grave – where kings and princes and infants lie. This verse is often applied to heaven, and the language is such as will express the condition of that blessed world. But as used by Job it had no such reference. It relates only to the grave. It is language which beautifully expresses the condition of the dead, and the desirableness even of an abode in the tomb. They who are there, are free from the vexations and annoyances to which people are exposed in this life. The wicked cannot torture their limbs by the fires of persecution, or wound their feelings by slander, or oppress and harass them in regard to their property, or distress them by thwarting their plans, or injure them by impugnlug their motives. All is peaceful and calm in the grave, and there is a place where the malicious designs of wicked people cannot reach us. The object of this verse and the two following is! to show the reasons why it was desirable to be in the grave, rather than to live and to suffer the ills of this life. We are not to suppose that Job referred exclusively to his own case in all this. tie is describing, in general, the happy condition of the dead, and we have no reason to think that he had been particularly annoyed by wicked people. But the pious often are, and hence, it should be a matter of gratitude that there is one place, at least, where the wicked cannot annoy the good; and where the persecuted, the oppressed, and the slandered may lie down in peace.
And there the weary be at rest – Margin, Wearied in strength. The margin is in accordance with the Hebrew. The meaning is, those whose strength is exhausted; who are worn down by the toils and eares of life, and who feel the need of rest. Never was more beautiful language employed than occurs in this verse. What a charm such language throws even over the grave – like strewing flowers, and planting roses around the tomb! Who should fear to die, if prepared, when such is to be the condition of the dead? Who is there that is not in some way troubled by the wicked – by their thoughtless, ungodly life; by persecution, contempt, and slander? compare 2Pe 2:8; Psa 39:1. Who is there that is not at some time weary with his load of care, anxiety, and trouble? Who is there whose strength does not become exhausted, and to whom rest is not grateful and refreshing? And who is there, therefore, to whom, if prepared for heaven, the grave would not be a place of calm and grateful rest? And though true religion will not prompt us to wish that we had lain down there in early childhood, as Job wished, yet no dictate of piety is violated when we look forward with calm delight to the time when we may repose where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary be at rest. O grave, thou art a peaceful spot! Thy rest is calm: thy slumbers are sweet.
Nor pain, nor grief, nor anxious fear
Invade thy bounds. No mortal woes
Can reach the peaceful sleeper here,
While angels watch the soft repose.
So Jesus slept; Gods dying Son
Passed through the grave, and blest the bed.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 3:17
There the wicked cease from troubling.
Wicked men trouble the world
True rest and wickedness never meet; rest and the wicked meet but seldom. And it is but half a rest, and it is rest but to half a wicked man, to his bones in the grave; and it is rest to that half but for a little time, only till the resurrection. The word here used, and in divers other places, signifieth wickedness in the height, and men most active in wickedness. So that when Job saith, There the wicked are at rest, he means those who had been restless in sin, who could not sleep till they had done mischief, nor scarce sleep for doing mischief; he means those who had outrun others in the sinful activity (Act 26:11).
1. Wicked men are troublers both of themselves and others. There the wicked cease from troubling; as if the wicked did nothing in the world, but trouble the world. Wicked ones are the troublers of all; they are troublers of their own families, troublers of the places and cities where they live, the troublers of a whole kingdom, troublers of the Churches of Christ, and the troublers of their own souls.
2. Wicked men, by troubling others, do as much weary and tire out themselves.
3. Wicked men will never cease troubling until they cease to live. In the grave they cease troubling, there they are at rest. If they should live an eternity in this world, they would trouble the world to eternity. As a godly man never gives over doing good, he will do good as long as he lives, though he fetches many a weary step; so wicked men never give over doing evil, until they step into the grave. And the reason of it is, because it is their nature to do evil. The wicked will sin while they have any light to sin by; therefore God puts out their candle, and sends them down into darkness, and there they will be quiet. The wicked shall be silent in darkness. (J. Caryl.)
And the weary are at rest.—
The rest of the grave
In the grave–where kings and princes and infants lie. This verse is often applied to heaven, and the language is such as will express the condition of that blessed world. But, as used by Job, it had no such reference. It relates only to the grave. It is language which beautifully expresses the condition of the dead, and the desirableness even of an abode in the tomb. They who are there are free from the vexations and annoyances to which men are exposed in this life; the wicked cannot torture their limbs by the fires of persecution, or wound their feelings by slander, or oppress and harass them in regard to their property, or distress them by thwarting their plans, or injure them by impugning their motives. All is peaceful and calm in the grave, and there is a place where the malicious designs of wicked men cannot reach us. The object of this verse and the two following is to show the reasons why it was desirable to be in the grave, rather than to live and to suffer the ills of this life. We are not to suppose that Job referred exclusively to his own case in all this. He is describing, in general, the happy condition of the dead, and we have no reason to think that he had been particularly annoyed by wicked men. But the pious often are; and hence it should be a matter of gratitude that there is one place, at least, where the wicked cannot annoy the good, and where the persecuted, the oppressed, and the slandered, may lie down in peace. For there the weary be at rest, the margin has wearied in strength. And the margin is according to the Hebrew. The meaning is, those whose strength is exhausted, who are worn down with the toils and cares of life, and who feel the need of rest. Never was more beautiful language employed than occurs in this verse. What a charm such language throws even over the grave–like strewing flowers and planting roses around the tomb! Who should fear to die, if prepared, when such is to be the condition of the dead? Who is there that is not in some way troubled by the wicked–by their thoughtless, godless life by persecution, contempt, and slander? (comp. 2Pe 2:8; Psa 39:1) Who is there that is not at some time weary with his load of care, anxiety, and trouble? Who is there whose strength does not become exhausted, and to whom rest is not grateful and refreshing? And who is there, therefore, to whom, if prepared for heaven, the grave would not be a place of calm and grateful rest? And though true religion will not prompt us to wish that we had lain down there in early childhood, as Job wished, yet no dictate of piety is violated when we look forward with calm delight to the time when we may repose where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest. O grave, thou art a peaceful spot! Thy rest is calm; thy slumbers are sweet. (Albert Barnes.)
Desire to depart
Thorns in our nest make us take to our wings; the embittering of this cup makes us earnestly desire to drink of the new wine of the kingdom. We are very much like our poor, who would stay at home in England, and put up with their lot, hard though it be; but when at last there comes a worse distress than usual, then straightway they talk of emigrating to those fair and boundless fields across the Atlantic, where a kindred nation will welcome them with joy, So here we are in our poverty, and we make the best of it we can; but a sharp distress wounds our spirit, and then we say we will away to Canaan, to the land that floweth with milk and honey, for there we shall suffer no distress, neither shall our spirits hunger any more. (J. Trapp.)
Departed trouble, and welcome rest
There the winked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. The day was, when it was thought fit that the Christians last resting place should be surrounded by gloomy and repulsive associations. It is not of peaceful rest that the burying place of the Middle Ages would remind you. We all remember the locked up, deserted, neglected churchyard, all grown over with great weeds and nettles, and not like Gods acre at all. How much more appropriate are the quiet, beautiful, open, carefully tended cemeteries of today! It is not merely better judgment but sounder faith that is here. It is a thoroughly Christian thing, to scatter the beauties of nature around the Christian grave. In the text I see something that is like turning the ghastly, neglected, nettle-grown churchyard which we may remember in childhood, into the quiet, sweet, thoughtful sleeping place which we find so common now. The text speaks to us over nearly four thousand years. Job lived in days when the light of truth was dim; Jesus had not yet brought life and immortality to light; so it is possible that we are able to understand Jobs words more fully and better than he understood them himself. The text may be read first of the grave; but in its best meaning it speaks of a better world, to which the grave is the portal.
I. These words as spoken of the grave, the house appointed for all living. We need not justify the impatient burst in which Job wished, as many others have wished since, that he had never been born. Job speaks of the rest to which he would gladly have gone. He would have slumbered with the wise, the great, and the good: how he would have lain still and been quiet, where trouble could never come, in the peaceful grave. There the wicked cease from troubling. There is one place into which the suffering can escape, where their persecutors have no power. There is nothing more striking about the state of those who have gone into the unseen world than the completeness of their escape from all worldly enemies, however malignant and however powerful. But there is something beyond the mere escape from worldly evil. Now the busy heart is quiet at last, and the weary head lies still. What a multitude there is of these weary ones. But there is a certain delusion in thinking of the grave as a place of quiet rest. The soul lives still, and is awake and conscious, though the body sleeps; and it is our souls that are ourselves. We have no warrant for believing that in the other world there will be any season of unconsciousness to the soul.
II. Take the words in their higher and truer meaning. They speak of a better world, whose two great characteristics are safety and peace.
1. There is safety and the sense of safety. Everything wicked–evil spirits, evil thoughts, evil influences cease from troubling. Everything evil, whether within us or around us, shall be done with. If evil were gone, trouble would go too. The great thing about evil and trouble here is not so much the pain and suffering they cause us, as the terrible power they have to do us fearful spiritual harm.
2. Besides the negative assurance, that trouble will be done with in heaven, we have the promise of a positive blessing. There the weary are at rest. The peace and happiness of the better world are summed up in that word. The end of work is to enjoy rest, said one of the wisest of heathen. Doubtless there will be rest from sin, from sorrow, from toil, from anxiety, from temptation, from pain; but all that fails to convey the whole unspeakable truth; it will be the beatific presence of the Saviour that will make the weary soul feel it never knew rest before! In that world the bliss will be restful, calm, satisfied, self-possessed, sublime. The only rest that can ever truly and permanently quiet the human heart is that which the Saviour gives. His peace. And He gives it only to His own. (A. K. H. Boyd.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 17. There the wicked cease] In the grave the oppressors of men cease from irritating, harassing, and distressing their fellow creatures and dependents.
And there the weary be at rest.] Those who were worn out with the cruelties and tyrannies of the above. The troubles and the troubled, the restless and the submissive, the toils of the great and the labours of the slave, are here put in opposition.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
There, i.e. in the grave, which though not expressed, yet is clearly implied in the foregoing verses.
The wicked cease from troubling; the great oppressors and troublers of the world cease from all those vexations, rapines, and murders which here they procured.
There the weary be at rest; those who were here molested and tired out with their tyrannies, now quietly sleep with them, or by them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. the wickedthe originalmeaning, “those ever restless,” “full of desires”(Isa 57:20; Isa 57:21).
the wearyliterally,”those whose strength is wearied out” (Re14:13).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
There the wicked cease [from] troubling,…. At death, and in the grave; such who have been like the troubled sea, that cannot rest, have always been either devising or doing mischief while living, in the grave can do neither; there is no work nor device there; such who are never easy, and cannot sleep unless they do mischief, when dead have no power to do any, and are quite still and inactive; such who have been troublers of good men, as profane persons by their ungodly lives, false teachers by their pernicious doctrines and blasphemies, cruel persecutors by their hard speeches, bitter calumnies and reproaches, and severe usage; those, when they die themselves, cease from giving further trouble, or when the righteous die, they can disturb them no more; yea, a good man at death is not only no more troubled by wicked men, but no more by his own wicked heart, nor any more by that wicked one Satan; there and then all these cease from giving him any further molestation:
and there the weary be at rest; wicked men, either who here tire and weary themselves with committing sin, to which they are slaves and drudges, and especially with persecuting and troubling the saints, shall rest front such acts of sin and wickedness, of which they will be no more capable; or else good men, who are weary of sin, and long to be rid of it, to whom it is a burden, and under which they groan, and are weary of the troubles and afflictions they meet with in the world; and what with one thing and another are weary of their lives, and desire to depart and be with Christ; these at death and in the grave are at rest, their bodies from toil and labour, and from all painful disorder, and pressing afflictions, and from all the oppressions and vexations of wicked and ungodly men; their souls rest in the arms of Jesus, from sin and all consciousness of it, from the temptations of Satan, from all doubts and fears, and every spiritual enemy, by whom they can be no more annoyed: some render the words, “there rest the labours of strength” u: such toils are over that break the strength of men; or “the labours of violence” w, which are imposed upon them through violence, by cruel and imperious men; but at death and in the grave will cease and be no more, even labour of all sorts; see Re 14:13.
u “labores roboris”, Michaelis. w “Labores violentiae”, Schmidt.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
17 There the wicked cease from troubling,
And the weary are at rest.
18 The captives dwell together in tranquillity;
They hear not the voice of the taskmaster.
19 The small and great, – they are alike there;
And the servant is free from his lord.
There, i.e., in the grave, all enjoy the rest they could not find here: the troublers and the troubled ones alike. corresponds to the radical idea of looseness, broken in pieces, want of restraint, therefore of Turba (comp. Isa 57:20; Jer 6:7), contained etymologically in . The Pilel vid., Ges. 55, 2) signifies perfect freedom from care. In , is more than the sign of the copula (Hirz., Hahn, Schlottm.); the rendering of the lxx, Vulg., and Luther., ibi sunt , is too feeble. As it is said of God, Isa 41:4; Isa 43:13; Psa 102:28, that He is , i.e., He who is always the same, ; so here, , used purposely instead of , signifies that great and small are like one another in the grave: all distinction has ceased, it has sunk to the equality of their present lot. Correctly Ewald: Great and small are there the same. , Job 3:18, refers to this destiny which brings them together.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(17) Therei.e., in the grave, the place indicated, but not distinctly expressed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
c. Then and there, for the first time, the inequalities in life’s allotments are brought to an end, Job 3:17-19.
17. There In the grave.
The wicked The man who rages. According to Kimchi, such is the idea of the root of the word , to rage, to storm. He is inwardly torn by passions and appetites. The ocean is a befitting emblem of his ever-restless soul. (Isa 57:20.) His inward trouble leads him to trouble others. His present life an unceasing source of misery to himself and of pain to friends casts a dark shadow upon his own eternal condition and its relationship to others. To such a heart there is but one Being who can give rest. (Mat 11:28.)
The weary be at rest Dr. Chalmers says of this verse, that “it is one of the Scripture’s prime memorabilia.” The ancient Egyptian called the abode of the dead “the covering of the weary.” Brugsch. Compare Bryant’s “Thanatopsis.” Those wasted by toil, and those stricken of sorrow, alike long for the grave as a place of rest. There is danger, however, lest the morbid spirit exaggerate the real evils of life, and, sighing for the grave, be guilty of bringing reproach upon the ways of God, his goodness, and his love. We may learn a lesson from the wounded soldier, who, absorbed in the battle, heeds little, and often knows not, the wounds he may have received, but fights on till the battle is over, and then, only then, asks for rest. Life’s soldier, (Job 7:1,) his soul each day filled with duty and laborious love, either heeds not or counts as small the present evil, and looks for repose only when God’s will shall have completed his existence. Those “wearied in strength” (see margin) may be referred to an incident in the life of Arnauld, the intrepid antagonist of the Vatican, and of “the grand monarque.” His friend Nicole, a companion in arms, expressed a wish to retire from the field, and to enjoy repose. “Repose!” replied Arnauld, “will you not have the whole of eternity to repose in?” Encyclop. Britannica, 8th ed., 1:81.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 3:17. The weary be at rest The Hebrew here yegiiai koach signifies, The toils of power; and these toils of the great are put in opposition to those of the slave, the meanest condition. The verse may be rendered, There the wicked cease to be a terror, and there the toils of power are in repose. The beginning of the 19th verse should be rendered, The small and great are equal there.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Job 3:17 There the wicked cease [from] troubling; and there the weary be at rest.
Ver. 17. There the wicked cease from troubling ] Here they are restless, as being acted and agitated by the devil, who being a discontented, turbulent creature, maketh ado in the world, and setteth his imps awork to do mischief, and to vex others, The word here rendered wicked signifieth vexatious persons, that worry and weary out others, molestuous and mischievous. In the grave they shall cease from so doing. That was a strange mind of our Edward I, who adjured his son and nobles, that if he died in his journey into Scotland, they should carry his corpse with them about Scotland, and not suffer it to be interred till they had absolutely subdued the country (Daniel’s Hist. 201). This was a desire more martial than Christian, saith the chronicler, showing a mind so bent to the world, as he would not make an end when he had done with it, but designeth his travel beyond his life.
And there the weary be at rest
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
wicked = lawless agitators. Hebrew. rasha’. App-44.
weary = worn out [of strength].
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the wicked: Job 14:13, Psa 55:5-8, Mat 10:28, Luk 12:4, 2Th 1:6, 2Th 1:7, 2Pe 2:8
the weary: Heb. the wearied in strength
at rest: Isa 57:1, Isa 57:2, Heb 4:9, Heb 4:11, Rev 14:13
Reciprocal: Job 16:7 – he hath Job 17:16 – rest Job 18:2 – mark Job 20:22 – wicked Job 21:33 – sweet Ecc 4:2 – General Ecc 7:1 – the day Ecc 9:6 – their love
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE BETTER WORLD
There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.
Job 3:17
This text speaks to us over nearly four thousand years. Job lived in days when the light of truth was dim; the Sun of righteousness had not yet risen above the horizon; Jesus had not yet brought life and immortality to light; and thus it is possible that we are able to understand Jobs words more fully and better than he understood them himself. The text may be read first as of the grave, but in its best meaning it speaks of a better world, to which the grave is but the portal.
I. Think of these words as spoken of the grave.(1) In the grave, Job says, for one pleasant thing, the wicked cease from troubling. Cross the line that parts life from death, and the strongest human hand cannot reach to vex or harm any more. There is nothing more striking about the state of those who have gone into the unseen world than the completeness of their escape from all worldly enemies, however malignant and however powerful. (2) But there is something beyond the mere escape from worldly evil. Now the busy heart is quiet at last, and the weary head lies still. There the weary are at rest. It is sometimes comforting, and we cannot say it is not sometimes fit and right, to think of a place where we shall find rest and quiet, where the weary are at rest. But though a deep sleep falls on the body, it is only for a while, and indeed there is a certain delusion in thinking of the grave as a place of quiet rest. The soul lives still, and is awake and conscious, though the body sleeps; and it is our souls that are ourselves. Even that in us which does sleepeven the bodysleeps to wake again.
II. Though these are Old Testament words, we read them in a New Testament light, as those who know that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life to all His people. These words speak of a better world. They point us onward to heaven. The two great things of which they assure us and remind us are safety and peace. (1) There is to be safety, and the sense of safety. There the wicked cease from troubling. Not wicked men only, but everything wicked: evil spirits, evil thoughts, evil influences, and our own sinful hearts. When the wicked cease from troubling, there will be no trouble at all. (2) The weary are at rest. We know the meaning of all the vague and endless aspirations of our human hearts. It is that this is not our rest. Our rest is beyond the grave. There is something of lifes fitful fever about all the bliss of this life; but in that world the bliss will be restful, calm, satisfied, self-possessed, sublime. It will be the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.
Illustration
The speech of Job (chap. 3) is full of profound mistakes, and the mistakes are only excusable because they were perpetrated by an unbalanced mind. The eloquent tirade proceeds upon the greatest misapprehensions. Yet we must be merciful in our judgment, for we ourselves have been unbalanced, and we have not spared the eloquence of folly in the time of loss, bereavement, and great suffering. We may not have made the same speech in one set deliverance, going through it paragraph by paragraph, but if we could gather up all the reproaches, murmurings, complainings which we have uttered, and set them down in order, Jobs short chapter would be but a preface to the black volume indited by our atheistic hearts.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Job 3:17. There the wicked cease from troubling In the grave the great oppressors and troublers of the world cease from their vexatious rapines and murders; and there the weary be at rest Those who were here molested, and tired out with their tyrannies, oppressions, and injuries, now quietly sleep with them.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
3:17 There the wicked {l} cease [from] troubling; and there the weary be at rest.
(l) That is, by death the cruelty of the tyrants has ceased.