Job 17:12 · Bible study
Job 17:12 Commentary: Who Changes Night into Day?
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Exegetical analysis of Job 17:12.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The collapse of normal time perception in suffering; whether caused by inner turmoil or false comfort from others.
- Key words: H7760 (יָשִׂימוּ), they make/change; H7138 (קָר֥וֹב), near or short; H6440 (מִ/פְּנֵי), from before, in the presence of.
- Main debate: Identity of “they”, the friends promising restoration (Keil, Cambridge) or Job’s own restless thoughts (Barnes, Gill).
- Theological theme: The realism of lament: suffering disorients, and well-meaning religious speech can miss the mark.
- Best use: A pastoral verse for walking alongside the deeply distressed, validating their experience before offering hope.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
They have turned night into day, making light seem near in the face of darkness.
WEB World English Bible 2000
They change the night into day, saying ‘The light is near’ in the presence of darkness.
KJV King James Version 1769
They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
They change the night into day: The light, say they, is near unto the darkness.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Night for day they appoint, Light is near because of darkness.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
They change the night into day; the light [they imagine] near in presence of the darkness.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
They have turned night into day, and after darkness I hope for light again.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Pusieron la noche por día, y la luz se acorta delante de las tinieblas.
Tornaram a noite em dia; a luz se encurta por causa das trevas.
Et ils prétendent que la nuit c’ est le jour,
Sie wollen aus der Nacht Tag machen und aus dem Tage Nacht.
Den nacht verstellen zij in den dag; het licht is nabij den ondergang vanwege de duisternis.
e costoro pretendon che la notte sia giorno, che la luce sia vicina, quando tutto è buio!
Noc mi się w dzień obraca; a światłość skraca się dla ciemości.
А они ночь хотят превратить в день, свет приблизить к лицу тьмы.
他們以黑夜 為 白晝，說：亮光 近乎 黑暗。
They are changing night into day; they say, The light is near the dark.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Job 17:12
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Job 17:12 captures the disorientation of deep suffering. The normal rhythm of day and night has collapsed. But they divide sharply over who “they” are. Barnes and Gill take “they” as Job’s own thoughts, his mind races so that night feels like day, and he cannot rest. Keil and Delitzsch, along with the Cambridge Bible, see “they” referring to Job’s friends. The friends keep claiming that dawn (restoration) is near, even though Job is surrounded by darkness (death). The Hebrew verb yāsîmû (“they make” or “they change”) can fit either reading, and the noun qārôb (“near” or “short”) is lexically ambiguous. KJV translates it “short,” reflecting one ancient Jewish interpretation, while most modern versions read “near.” So the meaning depends on how you link the verse to its context.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- The friends' false promise: The surrounding context (Job 5, 11, 8) shows the friends repeatedly promising restoration if Job repents; verse 12 then accuses them of calling night day.
- Job's own sleepless confusion: Job 7:3–4 describes a similar complaint about nights of misery; the verb 'they make' may be impersonal, meaning 'night is made into day for me.'
What is clear: Job is describing a situation where the normal distinction between night and day has collapsed, and any claim that light (relief) is near contradicts the palpable darkness he experiences.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of 'they' | Job is describing a painful inversion of night and day linked to his suffering. | Some commentators read 'they' as Job's own tormenting thoughts (Barnes, Gill), while others see it as the friends who falsely promise restoration (Keil, Cambridge Bible). |
| Translation of קָרוֹב (qārôb) | The word is lexically capable of meaning either 'near' or 'short'. | The KJV and some Jewish commentators understand it as 'short' (the light of day is brief before darkness returns); most modern versions read 'near' (the friends claim light is about to dawn). |
| Source of the reversal | The verse expresses disorientation, night becomes day, light is close yet darkness remains. | Those who favour the friends' view see it as an accusation of false prophecy; those who favour Job’s thoughts see it as a description of sleeplessness and mental confusion. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Job 17:12 sits near the end of Job’s second speech (chapters 16, 17). His three friends have been arguing that suffering proves sin, and that if Job repents, God will restore his fortunes. They have painted vivid pictures of a renewed life (e.g., Eliphaz in Job 5:17, 26 and Zophar in Job 11:13, 20). Job rejects their assurance as hollow. In the preceding verses (Job 17:11) he declares that his days are past and his plans broken off. He is now speaking of life’s final chapter: Sheol is his house (verse 13), corruption is his father, the worm his mother and sister (verse 14). Against this bleak horizon, anyone who promises a bright tomorrow seems deluded.
The symbolism of night and day in the Old Testament often echoes the first creation (Genesis 1:5) and the covenant blessings (Deuteronomy 28:67, where a terror-filled person longs for evening in the morning and morning in the evening). For a sufferer like Job, night is the time of weeping and insomnia (Job 7:3, 4), while light stands for life, prosperity, and God’s favour. To “change night into day” could mean either forcing the sleepless mind to treat night as daytime, or the friends artificially turning Job’s night of affliction into a false day of hope. Either way, the effect is the same: a painful inversion of God’s created order.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentaries and lexical data note no significant manuscript variants for Job 17:12. The KJV reading “the light is short” reflects a different interpretation of the Hebrew qārôb but does not stem from a textual variant. The Hebrew is stable across the Masoretic tradition.
Reception History
Early Jewish interpreters, including Rashi (Jarchi), glossed qārôb as “short,” reading the verse as Job’s complaint that respite never lasts. The Christian tradition has often read the verse as a lament about false hopes, both the friends’ promises and the soul’s own tendency to manufacture comfort. The Reformers (Calvin, Luther) used it to warn against trusting worldly restoration rather than God’s eternal purposes. Many modern pastoral commentaries turn to the verse to validate the disorientation that severe grief can cause. Across traditions, the verse stands as a raw, honest snapshot of a faith that does not paper over pain.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- The Confusion of Suffering. When pain is constant, the cycle of day and night loses meaning. Hours blur. Job speaks a universal experience: grief does not keep a schedule. Pastors can relate this to how mental distress disrupts time perception, a reality the Bible does not hide.
- The Hollow Comfort of False Promises. If “they” are Job’s friends, then this verse warns against cheap optimism. Promising someone that their “light is near” when they are staring into darkness can feel like gaslighting. Genuine comfort must first honour the darkness before speaking of light.
- The Honesty of Lament. Job does not pretend. He lets the contradiction stand: “they say light is near, but I see only night.” Scripture gives permission to voice that tension. Lament is not a lack of faith; it is the raw material that faith works with.
Five-Point Outline
- The text’s unresolved question about “they” leaves room for both internal and external sources of false hope.
- “Night into day” can also describe a person forcing cheerfulness when inwardly broken, a warning against spiritual denial.
- The Hebrew qārôb (near) underlines that promised relief always feels just out of reach.
- “In the presence of darkness” is brutally honest: the darkness is not ignoring the claimed light; it is still right there.
- Job models how to reject false comfort without losing his grip on God, he keeps arguing with God, not walking away.
Illustration Hooks
- A sleepless parent of a newborn: night-time feedings blur into day, and a friend says “it gets better soon” while the parent feels it will never end.
- A cancer patient facing terminal diagnosis: well-meaning visitors promise miracles, but the hospital room stays dark.
- An insomniac staring at the ceiling: time loses markers, and the 3 a.m. thoughts feel more real than daylight.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- Why does God let the darkness last so long when I am promised light?
- How can I tell the difference between a faithful hope and a denial of my real pain?
- Is it okay to feel angry when someone’s comforting words do not match my situation?
Leading a Discussion
Read Job 17:10, 16 in your group. Notice how Job describes his world. He is honest about wanting death (verses 13, 14) while also rejecting his friends’ shallow comfort. The verse about changing night to day is the hinge: who is doing the changing, and does it help or hurt?
Discussion Questions
- Who do you think “they” refers to in this verse, Job’s friends, Job’s own thoughts, or something else? What in the context supports your view?
- Job says his friends “change night into day.” When have you experienced someone trying to convince you a situation was better than it felt?
- The Hebrew word qārôb can mean either “near” or “short.” How does each translation change the emotional tone of the verse?
- How does Job’s honesty about wanting Sheol (the grave) as his home strike you? Is that faith or despair, can it be both?
- Verse 15 asks, “Where then is my hope?” What is the difference between denying hope and crying out for it in a painful way?
- How can your small group better support someone who is “in the presence of darkness”, without giving false assurances?
- What does it mean to hold onto God when the night and day feel reversed, and the light seems far away?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 28:67 | In the morning you will say, “I wish it were evening!” and at evening you will say, “I wish it were morning!” for the fear of your heart which you will fear, and for the sights which your eyes will see. |
| Job 7:3 | so I am made to possess months of misery, wearisome nights are appointed to me. |
| Job 7:4 | When I lie down, I say, ‘When will I arise, and the night be gone?’ I toss and turn until the dawning of the day. |
| Job 7:13 | When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me. My couch will ease my complaint,’ |
| Job 7:14 | then you scare me with dreams and terrify me through visions, |
| Job 24:14 | The murderer rises with the light. He kills the poor and needy. In the night he is like a thief. |
| Job 24:16 | In the dark they dig through houses. They shut themselves up in the daytime. They don’t know the light. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the light described is so close to darkness it appears almost nonexistent. This shows Job’s constant state of deep sorrow with only brief moments of hope.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes focuses on the way night and day have swapped their normal qualities for Job. Night offers no rest but feels as busy as daytime, while day itself becomes gloomy and short, almost like night. Neither period brings its intended comfort.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that Job’s friends falsely claim a time of life is coming while he faces real death. They say the light of hope is near his present darkness even though it is actually far away.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The commentator highlights a deliberate moral inversion: these people have actively swapped what God ordained as light and day for their opposites. They treat approaching light as if it were darkness, showing a willful confusion of basic categories of good and evil.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill offers several possible meanings for this verse rather than settling on one. The night turning into day could mean sleepless thoughts made darkness feel like daylight, or that his friends reversed nature by promising brightness when death approached. The light being short may mean morning quickly fades into evening, or that any prosperity is brief before adversity comes.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson Fausset Brown notes friends try to show joy will replace my suffering. They claim light of hope appears soon despite approaching death. This view sees their words as false because true light cannot come after darkness.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch note that Job believes his friends falsely claim light is near while he faces real darkness. He states he will not find a wise man among them who can see his true situation.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange identifies the central advance in Job’s thought as a "dualized" view of God: the same God who now persecutes him as a ferocious enemy must also become his heavenly witness and surety. Job prays to God against God, appealing from the God of the present to the God of the future who will vindicate his innocence.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that Job calls his friends fools for suggesting he might return to prosperity. He says their hope rests on uncertain earthly things that will fail if true.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley emphasizes the relentless nature of the speaker's suffering: disturbing thoughts pursue him so incessantly that he cannot sleep even at night. Daybreak offers no relief, as the light seems to vanish almost immediately, while darkness—meaning his grievous pains and torments—follows him without pause by day as well as by night.