Job 3:1–4:21
3 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job 1spoke, and said:
3 “May athe day perish on which I was born,
And the night in which it was said,
‘A male child is conceived.’
May God above not seek it,
Nor the light shine upon it.
5 May darkness and bthe shadow of death claim it;
May a cloud settle on it;
May the blackness of the day terrify it.
6 As for that night, may darkness seize it;
May it not 2rejoice among the days of the year,
May it not come into the number of the months.
7 Oh, may that night be barren!
May no joyful shout come into it!
8 May those curse it who curse the day,
Those cwho are ready to arouse Leviathan.
9 May the stars of its morning be dark;
May it look for light, but have none,
And not see the 3dawning of the day;
10 Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb,
Nor hide sorrow from my eyes.
11 “Why ddid I not die at birth?
Why did I not 4perish when I came from the womb?
12 eWhy did the knees receive me?
Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?
13 For now I would have lain still and been quiet,
I would have been asleep;
Then I would have been at rest
14 With kings and counselors of the earth,
Who fbuilt ruins for themselves,
15 Or with princes who had gold,
Who filled their houses with silver;
16 Or why was I not hidden glike a stillborn child,
Like infants who never saw light?
17 There the wicked cease from troubling,
And there the 5weary are at hrest.
18 There the prisoners 6rest together;
iThey do not hear the voice of the oppressor.
19 The small and great are there,
And the servant is free from his master.
20 “Why jis light given to him who is in misery,
And life to the kbitter of soul,
21 Who llong 7for death, but it does not come,
And search for it more than mhidden treasures;
And are glad when they can find the ngrave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
oAnd whom God has hedged in?
24 For my sighing comes before 8I eat,
And my groanings pour out like water.
25 For the thing I greatly pfeared has come upon me,
And what I dreaded has happened to me.
26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
I have no rest, for trouble comes.”
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 “If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary?
But who can withhold himself from speaking?
3 Surely you have instructed many,
And you ahave strengthened weak hands.
4 Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
And you bhave strengthened the 1feeble knees;
5 But now it comes upon you, and you are weary;
It touches you, and you are troubled.
6 Is not cyour reverence dyour confidence?
And the integrity of your ways your hope?
7 “Remember now, ewho ever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright ever cut off?
fThose who plow iniquity
And sow trouble reap the same.
9 By the blast of God they perish,
And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.
The voice of the fierce lion,
And gthe teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 hThe old lion perishes for lack of prey,
And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12 “Now a word was secretly brought to me,
And my ear received a whisper of it.
13 iIn disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,
When deep sleep falls on men,
14 Fear came upon me, and jtrembling,
Which made all my bones shake.
15 Then a spirit passed before my face;
The hair on my body stood up.
But I could not discern its appearance.
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence;
Then I heard a voice saying:
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
18 If He kputs no trust in His servants,
If He charges His angels with error,
19 How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,
Whose foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed before a moth?
20 lThey are broken in pieces from morning till evening;
They perish forever, with no one regarding.
21 Does not their own excellence go away?
They die, even without wisdom.’