There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.
There is the grave, the one place where all the dead go, held there as prisoners in silence until they are brought out. To rest together and not hear the oppressor is to lie in sleep-like, unconscious rest, without awareness or knowledge of what goes on around them. In that rest the troubling of the wicked has ceased and the weary are hidden from earthly trouble, free from care and oppression. Small and great lie there together on one common level, which is neither heaven nor hell, but cessation of conscious experience rather than conscious pleasure or pain. They remain asleep and silent there until the appointed awakening, when at the coming of Jesus and the call of Job's Redeemer they are called forth to immortality and change.
Lament Context And Imagery
Job 3:18 stands in the second of the five parts of the book of Job, the colloquies between Job and his three friends in chapters 3-31 concerning the cause and object of human suffering. It belongs to Job's expression of distress under affliction, for though a model of patience his heart was discomposed by trouble. That discomposure shows the difficulty of keeping a composed spirit and of resisting despair or resentment in great affliction.
"There" is Sheol, Hades, the grave, the one receptacle where all the dead go. It is a place of secrecy and silence with no device, wisdom, or knowledge, which evidences that the dead are in the grave. There the dead rest together beyond the reach of an oppressor's voice, no longer hearing or suffering oppression, in profound silence and perfect unconsciousness and rest.
The prisoners depict the grave as a prison-house where the dead are held until they are brought out. There the wicked trouble no more, the weary rest, and prisoners rest together without hearing the oppressor's voice. The dead rest there as prisoners, as Moses did after his death, with the earth as a vast prison-house. In this way the verse represents sinful humanity in death as held in the enemy's captivity, resting together beyond the oppressor's voice.
Death As Unconscious Rest
To rest together and no longer hear the oppressor is to lie in sleep-like, silent, unconscious rest in the grave, without conscious awareness or knowledge of surrounding events. The dead are at rest where the troubles and troubling of the wicked have ceased and the weary are at rest, as though one had never been. Prisoners no longer hear or suffer oppression because death is silence and rest beyond the reach of the oppressor's voice. In that picture death is sleep and rest in the grave, a quiet rest in which earthly distinctions cease.
The grave hides the dead from earthly troubles, and the oppressor is silenced so that prisoners rest together without hearing him. That rest belongs to the land of forgetfulness, where the dead are free from oppression and care. They have no concern about what takes place on earth or in heaven until they return. They wait in that hidden, carefree condition until the final day of coming and the call to immortality. The small and great share it together, with servants free from masters and people of every rank brought to one common level.
This leveling is shared by people of every rank and character, small and great together, servants free from their masters. It is neither heaven nor hell but rest in the grave while awaiting the resurrection. It is cessation of conscious experience rather than conscious pleasure or pain. The quiet, unconscious rest is common to all and not an immediate passage to heaven, since the dead remain in the grave until the future change and awakening.
For that reason there is no entrance into heavenly joy at death and no active life in heaven in the interval. The whole person loses life in death, as the patriarchs understood, and the dead do not remain conscious. Sheol, the one receptacle of all the dead, is a place of secrecy and silence with no device, wisdom, or knowledge, a profound silence and perfect unconsciousness and rest. By contrast paradise is a place of life, joy, peace and perfect bliss before the throne of God in heaven, not an intermediate state between death and the resurrection.
Awaiting Resurrection And Application
The dead remain in this condition in the grave, asleep and waiting, silent and unaware until they awake at the appointed change of the resurrection. They rest together there and no longer hear the oppressor's voice, knowing nothing of events around them while the troubles and distinctions of earthly life cease. Small and great are there together on the same level, and servants are free from their masters, in a condition that is neither heaven nor hell. They lie together in the dust in deep rest, hidden from earthly troubles, and they do not rise until that awakening.
They wait there until the final day of Jesus' coming and the call to immortality, the future change and awakening. Death is a quiet, unconscious rest shared by people of every rank, not an immediate entrance into heaven. Job himself expected to remain in the grave until the appointed time when his Redeemer would call him forth from that quiet unconsciousness. The picture applies to persecuted believers who have been slain: they rest in death until the resurrection rather than living consciously before then.
For Job, death takes the place of life and brings darkness and silence, raising whether anyone can be recovered from that condition. The hope of recovery rests on God's resurrection power. Since the dead in their graves do not hear the oppressor, members of the Philadelphia church who are already dead cannot be those kept through the future hour of temptation. The promise concerns faithful members who will still be alive when that time comes. At the coming of the Lord at the end of the age, the wicked dead lie still together in the grave and no longer trouble others. This is not yet their full final destruction, but the beginning of a long night for the wicked while it is the dawning of the bright day of eternity for the righteous.
There is the grave, the one place where all the dead go, held there as prisoners in silence until they are brought out. To rest together and not hear the oppressor is to lie in sleep-like, unconscious rest, without awareness or knowledge of what goes on around them. In that rest the troubling of the wicked has ceased and the weary are hidden from earthly trouble, free from care and oppression. Small and great lie there together on one common level, which is neither heaven nor hell, but cessation of conscious experience rather than conscious pleasure or pain. They remain asleep and silent there until the appointed awakening, when at the coming of Jesus and the call of Job's Redeemer they are called forth to immortality and change.
Lament Context And Imagery
Job 3:18 stands in the second of the five parts of the book of Job, the colloquies between Job and his three friends in chapters 3-31 concerning the cause and object of human suffering. It belongs to Job's expression of distress under affliction, for though a model of patience his heart was discomposed by trouble. That discomposure shows the difficulty of keeping a composed spirit and of resisting despair or resentment in great affliction.
"There" is Sheol, Hades, the grave, the one receptacle where all the dead go. It is a place of secrecy and silence with no device, wisdom, or knowledge, which evidences that the dead are in the grave. There the dead rest together beyond the reach of an oppressor's voice, no longer hearing or suffering oppression, in profound silence and perfect unconsciousness and rest.
The prisoners depict the grave as a prison-house where the dead are held until they are brought out. There the wicked trouble no more, the weary rest, and prisoners rest together without hearing the oppressor's voice. The dead rest there as prisoners, as Moses did after his death, with the earth as a vast prison-house. In this way the verse represents sinful humanity in death as held in the enemy's captivity, resting together beyond the oppressor's voice.
Death As Unconscious Rest
To rest together and no longer hear the oppressor is to lie in sleep-like, silent, unconscious rest in the grave, without conscious awareness or knowledge of surrounding events. The dead are at rest where the troubles and troubling of the wicked have ceased and the weary are at rest, as though one had never been. Prisoners no longer hear or suffer oppression because death is silence and rest beyond the reach of the oppressor's voice. In that picture death is sleep and rest in the grave, a quiet rest in which earthly distinctions cease.
The grave hides the dead from earthly troubles, and the oppressor is silenced so that prisoners rest together without hearing him. That rest belongs to the land of forgetfulness, where the dead are free from oppression and care. They have no concern about what takes place on earth or in heaven until they return. They wait in that hidden, carefree condition until the final day of coming and the call to immortality. The small and great share it together, with servants free from masters and people of every rank brought to one common level.
This leveling is shared by people of every rank and character, small and great together, servants free from their masters. It is neither heaven nor hell but rest in the grave while awaiting the resurrection. It is cessation of conscious experience rather than conscious pleasure or pain. The quiet, unconscious rest is common to all and not an immediate passage to heaven, since the dead remain in the grave until the future change and awakening.
For that reason there is no entrance into heavenly joy at death and no active life in heaven in the interval. The whole person loses life in death, as the patriarchs understood, and the dead do not remain conscious. Sheol, the one receptacle of all the dead, is a place of secrecy and silence with no device, wisdom, or knowledge, a profound silence and perfect unconsciousness and rest. By contrast paradise is a place of life, joy, peace and perfect bliss before the throne of God in heaven, not an intermediate state between death and the resurrection.
Awaiting Resurrection And Application
The dead remain in this condition in the grave, asleep and waiting, silent and unaware until they awake at the appointed change of the resurrection. They rest together there and no longer hear the oppressor's voice, knowing nothing of events around them while the troubles and distinctions of earthly life cease. Small and great are there together on the same level, and servants are free from their masters, in a condition that is neither heaven nor hell. They lie together in the dust in deep rest, hidden from earthly troubles, and they do not rise until that awakening.
They wait there until the final day of Jesus' coming and the call to immortality, the future change and awakening. Death is a quiet, unconscious rest shared by people of every rank, not an immediate entrance into heaven. Job himself expected to remain in the grave until the appointed time when his Redeemer would call him forth from that quiet unconsciousness. The picture applies to persecuted believers who have been slain: they rest in death until the resurrection rather than living consciously before then.
For Job, death takes the place of life and brings darkness and silence, raising whether anyone can be recovered from that condition. The hope of recovery rests on God's resurrection power. Since the dead in their graves do not hear the oppressor, members of the Philadelphia church who are already dead cannot be those kept through the future hour of temptation. The promise concerns faithful members who will still be alive when that time comes. At the coming of the Lord at the end of the age, the wicked dead lie still together in the grave and no longer trouble others. This is not yet their full final destruction, but the beginning of a long night for the wicked while it is the dawning of the bright day of eternity for the righteous.