Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;

JOB 3:20KJV
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Job 3:20 (KJV)

What does Job 3:20 mean?

Job 3:20 asks why light and life are given to those who are suffering deeply and feel bitter in their souls. The verse expresses Job’s confusion and pain, wondering why God allows people in misery to keep living and experiencing consciousness when their suffering feels unbearable.

Job himself is speaking these words, not to any person directly, but as a lament in the presence of his friends after losing his family, health, and wealth. Job’s question is not just about his own pain but reflects a deep struggle to understand why suffering people must continue to endure life when they feel only bitterness and distress.

The Hebrew behind Job 3:20

  • "light" (אוֹר, 'or): This word often means physical light, but here it stands for the experience of being alive or conscious. Job is questioning why awareness or existence is given to those in anguish.
  • "misery" (עָמָל, 'amal): This word refers to hardship, trouble, or deep suffering. Job’s use of it highlights the intensity of the pain he is describing.
  • "bitter" (מָר, mar): This word describes a deep inner bitterness or grief, not just a passing sadness. It shows the depth of Job’s emotional and spiritual pain.
  • "soul" (נֶפֶשׁ, nephesh): This word means the inner self or life force. Job is not just talking about physical pain, but a suffering that reaches the very core of a person.

Why Job 3:20 matters

  • Job 3:20 reveals that even people of faith can struggle deeply with the meaning of suffering and may voice hard questions without easy answers.
  • The verse connects to the larger passage where Job is lamenting his birth, showing how overwhelming pain can lead someone to question the very purpose of life itself.
  • Understanding the depth of words like "misery" and "bitter in soul" helps readers see that Job’s suffering is not just physical but emotional and spiritual, making his questions about life and light even more poignant.

Where else these words appear

“misery” Hebrew H6001 · used in 9 verses

  • Judges 5:26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.
  • Proverbs 16:26 He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.
  • Ecclesiastes 3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

“bitter” Hebrew H4751 · used in 35 verses

  • Genesis 27:34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
  • 2 Samuel 2:26 Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?
  • Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

“light” Hebrew H216 · used in 112 verses

  • Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
  • Job 36:32 With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.
  • Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.