Job 3:1–4:21

Job’s Lament

1 Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed 1the day of his birth.

2 And Job 1said,

3 “aLet the day perish on which I was to be born,

And the night which said, ‘A 1boy is conceived.’

4 “May that day be darkness;

Let not God above care for it,

Nor light shine on it.

5 “Let adarkness and black gloom claim it;

Let a cloud settle on it;

Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

6 “As for that night, let darkness seize it;

Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;

Let it not come into the number of the months.

7 “Behold, let that night be barren;

Let no joyful shout enter it.

8 “Let those curse it who curse the day,

Who are 1prepared to arouse Leviathan.

9 “Let the stars of its twilight be darkened;

Let it wait for light but have none,

And let it not see the 1breaking dawn;

10 Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb,

Or hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “aWhy did I not die 1at birth,

Come forth from the womb and expire?

12 “Why did the knees receive me,

And why the breasts, that I should suck?

13 “For now I awould have lain down and been quiet;

I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,

14 With akings and with bcounselors of the earth,

Who rebuilt cruins for themselves;

15 Or with aprinces bwho had gold,

Who were filling their houses with silver.

16 “Or like a miscarriage which is 1discarded, I would not be,

As infants that never saw light.

17 “There the wicked cease from raging,

And there the 1weary are at arest.

18 “The prisoners are at ease together;

They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.

19 “The small and the great are there,

And the slave is free from his master.

20 “Why is alight given to him who suffers,

And life to the bitter of soul,

21 Who 1along for death, but there is none,

And dig for it more than for bhidden treasures,

22 Who rejoice greatly,

And exult when they find the grave?

23 “Why is light given to a man awhose way is hidden,

And whom bGod has hedged in?

24 “For amy groaning comes at the sight of my food,

And bmy cries pour out like water.

25 “For 1awhat I fear comes upon me,

And what I dread befalls me.

26 “I aam not at ease, nor am I quiet,

And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

Chapter 4

Eliphaz: Innocent Do Not Suffer

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite 1answered,

2 “If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient?

But awho can refrain 1from speaking?

3 “Behold ayou have admonished many,

And you have strengthened weak hands.

4 “Your words have 1helped the tottering to stand,

And you have strengthened 2feeble knees.

5 “But now it has come to you, and you aare impatient;

It btouches you, and you are dismayed.

6 “Is not your 1afear of God byour confidence,

And the integrity of your ways your hope?

7 “Remember now, awho ever perished being innocent?

Or where were the upright destroyed?

8 “According to what I have seen, athose who plow iniquity

And those who sow trouble harvest it.

9 “By athe breath of God they perish,

And bby the 1blast of His anger they come to an end.

10 “The aroaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,

And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

11 “The alion perishes for lack of prey,

And the bwhelps of the lioness are scattered.

12 “Now a word awas brought to me stealthily,

And my ear received a bwhisper of it.

13 “Amid disquieting athoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

14 Dread came upon me, and trembling,

And made 1all my bones shake.

15 “Then a 1spirit passed by my face;

The hair of my flesh bristled up.

16 “It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance;

A form was before my eyes;

There was silence, then I heard a voice:

17 ‘Can amankind be just 1before God?

Can a man be pure 1before his bMaker?

18 ‘aHe puts no trust even in His servants;

And against His angels He charges error.

19 ‘How much more those who dwell in ahouses of clay,

Whose bfoundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before the moth!

20 ‘aBetween morning and evening they are broken in pieces;

Unobserved, they bperish forever.

21 ‘Is not their atent-cord plucked up within them?

They die, yet bwithout wisdom.’