Job 3:1 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

JOB CHAPTER 3 Job curseth the day and services of his birth, Job 3:1-12. The ease and honours of death, Job 3:13-19. Life in anguish matter of complaint, Job 3:20-24. What he feared is now come upon him, Job 3:25,26. He spake freely and boldly, as this phrase is used, Proverbs 31:8,9 Eph 6:19, and elsewhere, and cursed his day, to wit, his birthday, as is evident from Job 3:3, which is called simply a man's day, Hosea 7:5; which also some others, through the same infirmity, and in the same circumstances, have cursed, as we see, Jeremiah 20:14. In vain do some men endeavour to excuse this and the following speeches of Job, who afterwards is reproved by God and severely accuseth himself for them, Job 38:2, Job 40:4 42:3,6. And yet he doth not proceed so far as to curse or blaspheme God, but makes the devil a liar in his prognostics. But although he doth not break forth into direct and downright reproaches of God, yet he makes secret and indirect reflections upon God's providence. His curse was sinful, both because it was vain, being applied to an unreasonable thing, which was not capable of blessing and cursing, and to a day that was past, and so out of the reach of all curses; and because it was applied to one of God's creatures, all which were and are in themselves very good, and pronounced blessed by God; and so they are, if we do not turn them into curses; and because it casts a blame upon God for bringing that day, and for giving him that life which that day brought into the world. He pronounceth that day an unhappy, woeful, and cursed day, not in itself, but with respect to himself.