Job 3 · Verse 19

Job 3:19

The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.
Job 3:19, King James Version

Job 3:19 in other translations

BSBBoth small and great are there, and the slave is freed from his master.
WEBThe small and the great are there. The servant is free from his master.
ASVThe small and the great are there: And the servant is free from his master.
YLTSmall and great are there the same. And a servant is free from his lord.
DARBYThe small and great are there, and the bondman freed from his master.
BBEThe small and the great are there, and the servant is free from his master.
WebsterThe small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.

What does Job 3:19 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
19. servant--The slave is there manumitted from slavery.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 19 The small and great are there - All sorts and conditions of men are equally blended in the grave, and ultimately reduced to one common dust; and between the bond and free there is no difference. The grave is "The appointed place of rendezvous, where all These travelers meet." Equality is absolute among the sons of men in their entrance into and exit from the world: all the intermediate state is disparity. All men begin and end life alike; and there is no difference between the king and the cottager. A contemplation of this should equally humble the great and the small. The saying is trite, but it is true: - Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas, Regumque turres. Hor. Odar. lib. i., Od. iv., ver. 13. "With equal pace impartial Fate Knocks at the palace as the cottage gate." Death is that state,"Where they an equal honor shareWho buried or unburied are.Where Agamemnon knows no moreThan Irus he contemn'd before.Where fair Achilles and Thersites lie,Equally naked, poor, and dry." And why do not the living lay these things to heart? There is a fine saying in Seneca ad Marciam, cap. 20, on this subject, which may serve as a comment on this place: Mors-servitutem invito domino remittit; haec captivorum catenas levat; haec e carcere eduxit, quos exire imperium impotens vetuerat. Haec est in quo nemo humilitatem suam sensit; haec quae nulli paruit; haec quae nihil quicquam alieno fecit arbitrio. Haec, ubi res communes fortuna male divisit, et aequo jure genitos alium alii donavit, exaequat omnia. - "Death, in spite of the master, manumits the slave. It loosens the chains of the prisoners. It brings out of the dungeon those whom impotent authority had forbidden to go at large. This is the state in which none is sensible of his humiliation. Death obeys no man. It does nothing according to the will of another. It reduces, by a just law, to a state of equality, all who in their families and circumstances had unequal lots in life."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 3:11-19

Job complained of those present at his birth, for their tender attention to him. No creature comes into the world so helpless as man. God's power and providence upheld our frail lives, and his pity and patience spared our forfeited lives. Natural affection is put into parents' hearts by God. To desire to die that we may be with Christ, that we may be free from sin, is the effect and evidence of grace; but to desire…

Read the full comment on Job 3:11-19 →

Job 3:19 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

קָטֹ֣ןka.TonsmallH6996
וְ֭גָדוֹלVe.ga.doland greatH1419
שָׁ֣םsham[is] thereH8033
ה֑וּאHu'heH1931
וְ֝עֶ֗בֶדve.'E.vedand a slaveH5650
חָפְשִׁ֥יcha.fe.Shi[is] freeH2670
מֵאֲדֹנָֽיו\׃me.'a.do.Navfrom master<s> hisH113

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 3:19

  • Ecclesiastes 8:8

    There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

  • Ecclesiastes 12:7

    Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

  • Job 30:23

    For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.

  • Psalms 49:2

    Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

  • Luke 16:22-23

    And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

  • Ecclesiastes 12:5

    Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

  • Psalms 49:6-10

    They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. …

  • Psalms 49:14-20

    Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. …

  • Hebrews 9:27

    And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The small.
30:23; Ps 49:2,6-10; Ec 8:8; 12:5,7; Lu 16:22,23; Heb 9:27
and the servant.
Ps 49:14-20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 3:18

    There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.

  • Job 3:19

    The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.

  • Job 3:20

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

Read all of Job 3

Job 3:19 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Allí están el chico y el grande; y el siervo libre de su señor.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Là sont le petit et le grand, et le serviteur libéré de son maître.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Der Kleine und der Große, dort sind sie gleich, und der Knecht ist frei von seinem Herrn.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Parvus et magnus ibi sunt, et servus liber a domino suo.