KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
To get what Job 3:20 means based on its source text, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Hebrew | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Hebrew word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Wherefore” | לָ֤מָּה | Properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and even relatively, that which); often used with prefixes in various adverbial or conjunctive senses | Wherefore |
| “is light” | א֑וֹר | Illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.) | light |
| “given” | יִתֵּ֣ן | To give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.) | given |
| “to him that is in misery,” | לְעָמֵ֣ל | Toiling; concretely, a laborer; figuratively, sorrowful | misery |
| “and life” | וְ֝חַיִּ֗ים | Alive; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively | life |
| “unto the bitter” | לְמָ֣רֵי | Bitter (literally or figuratively); also (as noun) bitterness, or (adverbially) bitterly | bitter |
| “in” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “soul;” | נָֽפֶשׁ׃ | Properly, a breathing creature, i.e., animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental) | soul |
See Job 3:20 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
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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.
20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;
21 Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;
22 Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.