Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job isn't just wishing for darkness; he's invoking a profound spiritual claim. The original word used for "stain" or "claim" actually carries the idea of "redeeming" or "avenging," suggesting Job wants this day to be "redeemed" by darkness, to be taken over and possessed by it as its rightful owner. This isn't just a wish for bad weather, but a desire for the deepest spiritual gloom to assert ownership over his very existence.
Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job is in the depths of despair, having just learned of the total destruction of his children and wealth. In this chapter, he breaks his silence, not to find comfort, but to curse the day he was born. He wishes for the day of his birth to be utterly consumed by darkness, a complete negation of light and life, so that it would be a day of dread and terror for all.
Job doesn't just want his birthday to be gloomy; he wants it to be utterly consumed by darkness. What does this intense imagery reveal about his despair?
Job cries out for 'darkness and the shadow of death' to claim his birth day. The Hebrew word for 'claim' here can also mean 'redeem' or 'avenge.' Job isn't just wishing for bad weather; he's imprecating that this day be taken over by the ultimate realm of the dead, a place devoid of God's presence and light.
This isn't a passive wish for gloom. It's an active desire for the day of his birth to be utterly extinguished, as if 'redeemed' from the land of the living and claimed by the realm of death. The 'shadow of death' itself is a poetic way of describing the deepest, most terrifying darkness imaginable.
Beyond just darkness, Job invokes powerful, almost sentient forces to terrify his birth day. What does this escalating language communicate?
Job’s imprecation escalates from general darkness to specific, terrifying phenomena. He asks for 'clouds' to 'dwell' upon the day – not just a passing shower, but a permanent, settled gloom.
Then comes the chilling plea: 'let the blackness of the day terrify it.' This isn't just about the absence of light, but the active, fearful presence of what obscures it. The Hebrew here suggests a 'blackness' or 'obscurity' that instills terror. It's as if Job wishes for the very essence of whatever darkens the day – be it storms, eclipses, or even the oppressive 'heat' of extreme circumstances – to actively strike fear into the heart of that day.
Understand the original words
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tsalmavet · Hebrew Noun
A term referring to intense darkness, shadowy obscurity, or the thick, impenetrable gloom associated with death or the underworld.
baath · Hebrew Verb
The state of being deeply afraid; to be caused to tremble or be struck with intense dread.
This passage echoes Job's despair, with Jeremiah cursing the day of his birth, highlighting a profound sense of existential dread and the wish for non-existence.
Genesis 1:2The 'darkness' Job wishes for is reminiscent of the formless void before creation, suggesting a desire for a return to absolute nothingness where light and order did not yet exist.
Isaiah 9:2This verse uses the phrase 'deep darkness' (or 'shadow of death' in some translations) to describe the state of people living in spiritual darkness, paralleling Job's wish for his day to be utterly consumed by such oppressive gloom.
Exodus 10:21-22The plague of thick darkness that covered Egypt is a literal, terrifying manifestation of the kind of absolute, palpable darkness Job wishes upon his own existence, a darkness that can be 'felt'.
bensonJob 3:5: "Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it."
Job 3:5. Let darkness and the shadow of death — Let the most dismal darkness, like that of the place of the dead, which is a land of darkness, and where the light is darkness, Job 10:21-22 ; or darkness so gross and palpable, that its horrors are insupportable; stain it — Take away its beauty and glory, and render it abominable as a filthy thing; or, rather, challenge or…
jfbJob 3:5: "Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it."
- Let … the shadow of death—("deepest darkness," Isa 9:2).stain it—This is a later sense of the verb [Gesenius]; better the old and more poetic idea, "Let darkness (the ancient night of chaotic gloom) resume its rights over light (Ge 1:2), and claim that day as its own."a cloud—collectively, a gathered mass of dark clouds.the blackness of the day terrify it—literally, "…
Job isn't just wishing for darkness; he's invoking a profound spiritual claim. The original word used for "stain" or "claim" actually carries the idea of "redeeming" or "avenging," suggesting Job wants this day to be "redeemed" by darkness, to be taken over and possessed by it as its rightful owner. This isn't just a wish for bad weather, but a desire for the deepest spiritual gloom to assert ownership over his very existence.
Job is in the depths of despair, having just learned of the total destruction of his children and wealth. In this chapter, he breaks his silence, not to find comfort, but to curse the day he was born. He wishes for the day of his birth to be utterly consumed by darkness, a complete negation of light and life, so that it would be a day of dread and terror for all.
Job is in the depths of despair, having just learned of the total destruction of his children and wealth. In this chapter, he breaks his silence, not to find comfort, but to curse the day he was born. He wishes for the day of his birth to be utterly consumed by darkness, a complete negation of light and life, so that it would be a day of dread and terror for all.
"Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it." — Job isn't just wishing for darkness; he's invoking a profound spiritual claim. The original word used for "stain" or "claim" actually carries the idea of "redeeming" or "avenging," suggesting Job wan…
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Last reviewed October 2026