Job Regrets His Birth

3 ⌊Afterward⌋a Job opened his mouth and cursedb his day. 2 Thusc Job ⌊spoke up⌋d and said,

3 “Let the day perish on which I was born,

and the night that said, ‘A man-child is conceived.’

4 Let that day becomee darkness;

may God not seek it from above,

nor may daylight shine on it.

5 Let darkness and deep shadow claim it;

let cloudsf settle on it;

let themg terrify it with the blacknessh of day.

6 Let darkness seize that night;i

let it not rejoice among the days of the year;

let it not enter among the number of the months.

7 Look, let that night becomej barren;

let a joyful song not enter it.

8 Let those who curse the day curse it,

those who are skilled at rousing Leviathan.

9 Let the stars of its dawn be dark;

let it hope for light butk there be none,

and let it not see the eyelids of dawn

10 because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,

norl did it hide trouble from my eyes.

Job Wishes He Had Died

11 “Why did I not die atm birth?

Why did I not come forth from the womb and expire?

12 Why did the knees receive me

and the breasts, that I could suck?

13 For now I would lie down, and I would be at peace;

I would be asleep; then ⌊I would be at rest⌋n

14 with kings and counselors of the earth,

who ⌊rebuild⌋ o ruins for themselves,

15 or with high officials ⌊who have gold⌋,p

who fill up their houses with silver.

16 Or why was I not hidden like a miscarriage,

like infants who did not see the light?

17 There the wicked cease from troubling,

and there the ⌊weary⌋q are at rest;

18 the prisoners are at ease together;

they do not hear the oppressor’s voice.

19 The small and the great are there,

and the slave is free from his masters.r

Job Wishes He Might Die

20 “Why does hes give light to one in misery

and life to those bitter of soul,

21 who wait for death, butt ⌊it does not come⌋,u

and searchv for it more than for treasures,

22 who rejoice ⌊exceedingly⌋,w

and they are glad when they find the grave?

23 Why does hex give light to a man whose way is hidden,

and God has fenced him in all around?

24 Fory my sighing comes ⌊before⌋z my bread,a

and my groanings gush forth like water

25 because the dread that I ⌊feel⌋b has come upon me,

and what I feared befalls me.

26 I am not at ease, and I am not at peace,

and I do not have rest, thusc turmoil has come.”

Eliphaz’s First Response to Job

4 Thena Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

2 “If someone would test a word with you, would you be offended?

Butb who can refrain from speaking?

3 Look, you have instructed many,

and you have strengthened weak hands.

4 Your words have raised up the one who stumbles,

and you have strengthened knees giving way.

5 But now it has come to you, and you are worn out;

it touches you, and you are horrified.

6 Is not your fear in God your confidence?

Is not your hope evenc the integrity of your ways?

7 “⌊Think⌋d now, who has perished who is innocent?

Ore where are the upright destroyed?

8 Just as I have seen, plowers of mischief

and sowers of trouble will reap it.

9 Byf the breath of God they perish,

and byg the blast of his anger they come to an end.

10 The roar of the lion and the voice of a lion in its prime,

and the teeth of the young lions are broken.

11 The lion is perishing withouth prey,

and the lion’s whelps are scattered.

12 “And a word came stealing to me,

and my ear received the whisper from it.

13 Amid troubling thoughts from night visions,

at the falling of deep sleep on men,

14 dread met me, and trembling,

and it made many of my bones shake.

15 And a spirit glided before my face;

the hair of my fleshi bristled.

16 It stood still, butj I could not recognize its appearance;

a form was ⌊before⌋k my eyes;

there was a hush, and I heard a voice:

17 ‘Can a human being be more righteous than God,

or can a man be more pure than his Maker?

18 Look, he does not trust in his servants

and he charges his angels with error.

19 How much more dwellers in clay houses,

whose foundation is in the dust?

They are crushed like a moth.

20 ⌊Between morning and evening⌋l they are destroyed;

without anyone regarding it they perish forever.

21 Is not their tent cord pulled up within them?

They die, butm not inn wisdom.’

Eliphaz’s Response Continues

5 “Call now, is there anyone answering you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 For vexation will slay the fool,

and jealousy will kill the simple.

3 I have seen a fool taking root,

buta suddenly I cursed his dwelling.

4 His children are far from deliverance,

and they are crushed in the gate,

and there is no deliverer—

5 whose harvest the hungry eats,

and he takes it ⌊from behind⌋b the thorns;

and the thirsty pants after their wealth.

6 Indeed,c mischief does not come from the dust,

and trouble does not sprout from the earth.

7 But a human being is born to trouble,

and ⌊they soar aloft⌋d like ⌊sparks⌋.e

8 “But I myselff will seek God,

and to God I would commit my cause.

9 He is doing great and ⌊unsearchable⌋g things,

marvelous things ⌊without number⌋h—

10 the one who is giving rain on the ⌊surface of⌋i the earth

and is sending water on the ⌊surface of⌋j the fields,

11 to set the lowly on high,

and those mourning are lifted to safety.

12 He is frustrating the devices of the crafty,

and their hands do not achieve success.

13 He is capturing the wise in their craftiness,

and the schemes of the wily are rushed.

14 In the daytime they meet with darkness,

and they grope at noonk as in the night.

15 Andl he saves from the sword ofm their mouth,

⌊even⌋n the poor from the hand of the strong.

16 Soo there is hopep for the powerless,

and wickedness shuts its mouth.

17 “Look, happy is the human being whom God reproves;

and you must not despise the discipline of Shaddai,

18 for he himselfq wounds, butr he binds up;

he strikes, buts his hands heal.

19 ⌊From⌋t six troubles he will deliver you,

and in seven evil shall not touch you.

20 In famine he will redeem you from death,

and in war from the ⌊power of⌋u the sword.

21 From the scourge of the tongue you shall be hidden,

and you shall not be afraid ofv destruction when it comes.

22 At destruction and faminew you shall laugh,

and you shall not fear the wild animals of the earth.

23 For your covenant will be with the stones of the field,

and the wild animalsx of the field will be at peace with you.

24 And you shall know that your tent is safe,

and you will inspect your fold, and you shall not be missing anything.

25 And you shall know that your offspring are many,

and your descendants like the vegetation of the earth.

26 You shall come in maturity to the grave,

as the raising up of a stack of sheaves in its season.

27 “Look, we have searched this out—it is true;

hear it and know it ⌊yourself⌋.”y

Job’s Second Speech: A Response to Eliphaz

6 Thena Job answered and said,

2 “If only my vexation could be well weighed,

and my calamity could be lifted up together with it in the balances,

3 for then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;

therefore my words have been rash,

4 for the arrows of Shaddai are in me;

my spirit drinks their poison;

the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

5 Does the wild ass bray over grass,

or the ox bellow over its fodder?

6 Can tasteless food be eaten withoutb salt,

or is there taste in the white of a marshmallow plant?

7 ⌊I refused⌋c to touch them;

they are like ⌊food that will make me ill⌋.d

8 “⌊O that⌋e my request may come,

and that God may grant my hope,

9 thatf God would decide thatg he would crush me,

that he would let loose his hand and ⌊kill me⌋.h

10 Buti it will still be my consolation,

and I would recoil in ⌊unrelenting⌋j pain,

for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 What is my strength, that I should wait?

And what is my end, that ⌊I should hold out⌋?k

12 Or is my strength like the strength of stones?

Or is my flesh bronze?

13 ⌊Indeed⌋,l my help is not in me,

and any success is driven from me.

14 “Loyal lovem should come for the afflicted from his friend,

even ifn he forsakes the fear of Shaddai.

15 My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed;

like a streambed of wadiso they flow away,

16 which are growing dark because of ice upon them,

it will pile up snow.

17 In time they dry up, they disappear;

when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

18 The paths of their way wind around;

they go up into the wasteland, and they perish.

19 The caravans of Tema looked;

the traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.

20 They are disappointed, because they trusted;

they came ⌊here⌋p and they are confounded.

21 “For now youq have become ⌊such⌋;r

you see terrors, and you fear.

22 Is it because I have said, ‘Give to me,’

or,s ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth’?

23 or,t ‘Save me from the foe’s hand,’

or,u ‘Ransom me from the tyrants’ hand’?

24 Teach me, and I myselfv will be silent;

and make me understand how I have gone astray.

25 How painful are ⌊upright words⌋!w

Butx what does ⌊your reproof⌋y reprove?

26 Do you intend to reprove my wordsz

and consider the words of a desperate man as wind?

27 Even over the orphan you would cast the lot,

and you would bargain over your friend.

28 “⌊Therefore⌋a be prepared, turn to me,

and I surely will not lie to your face.b

29 Please turn, let no injustice happen;

indeed,c turn, ⌊my righteousness is still intact⌋.d

30 Is there injustice on my tongue?

Or can my palate not discern calamity?e

Job’s Second Speech: A Response to Eliphaz

7 “Does not ⌊a human beinga have hard service⌋b on earth?

And are not hisc days like the days of a laborer?

2 Like a slave he longs for the shadow,

and like a laborer he waits for his wages.

3 So ⌊I had to inherit⌋d months of worthlessness,

and nights of misery are apportioned to me.

4 When I lie down, I say,e ‘When shall I rise?’

Butf the night is long,

and I have my fill of tossing until dawn.

5 My body is clothed with maggots and clods of dust;

my skin hardens, theng it gives way again.

6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

and they come to an end ⌊without hope⌋.h

7 Remember that my life is a breath;

my eye will not return to …