Job 3:1–4:21
3 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.b 2 He said:
3 “May the day of my birth perish,
and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’c
4 That day—may it turn to darkness;
may God above not care about it;
may no light shine on it.
5 May gloom and utter darknessd claim it once more;
may a cloud settle over it;
may blackness overwhelm it.
6 That night—may thick darknesse seize it;
may it not be included among the days of the year
nor be entered in any of the months.
may no shout of joyf be heard in it.
8 May those who curse daysa curse that day,g
those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.h
9 May its morning stars become dark;
may it wait for daylight in vain
and not see the first rays of dawn,i
10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
to hide trouble from my eyes.
11 “Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as I came from the womb?j
12 Why were there knees to receive mek
and breasts that I might be nursed?
13 For now I would be lying downl in peace;
I would be asleep and at restm
14 with kings and rulers of the earth,n
who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,o
15 with princesp who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.q
16 Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,r
like an infant who never saw the light of day?s
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,t
and there the weary are at rest.u
18 Captivesv also enjoy their ease;
they no longer hear the slave driver’sw shout.x
19 The small and the great are there,y
and the slaves are freed from their owners.
20 “Why is light given to those in misery,
and life to the bitter of soul,z
21 to those who long for death that does not come,a
who search for it more than for hidden treasure,b
22 who are filled with gladness
and rejoice when they reach the grave?c
whose way is hidden,d
whom God has hedged in?e
24 For sighingf has become my daily food;g
my groansh pour out like water.i
25 What I feared has come upon me;
what I dreadedj has happened to me.k
26 I have no peace,l no quietness;
I have no rest,m but only turmoil.”n
4 Then Eliphaz the Temaniteo replied:
2 “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
But who can keep from speaking?p
3 Think how you have instructed many,q
how you have strengthened feeble hands.r
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;s
you have strengthened faltering knees.t
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;u
it strikesv you, and you are dismayed.w
6 Should not your piety be your confidencex
and your blamelessy ways your hope?
7 “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?z
Where were the upright ever destroyed?a
8 As I have observed,b those who plow evilc
and those who sow trouble reap it.d
9 At the breath of Gode they perish;
at the blast of his anger they are no more.f
10 The lions may roarg and growl,
yet the teeth of the great lionsh are broken.i
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,j
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.k
12 “A wordl was secretly brought to me,
my ears caught a whisperm of it.n
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
when deep sleep falls on people,o
14 fear and tremblingp seized me
and made all my bones shake.q
15 A spirit glided past my face,
and the hair on my body stood on end.r
but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
and I heard a hushed voice:s
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?t
Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?u
18 If God places no trust in his servants,v
if he charges his angels with error,w
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,x
whose foundationsy are in the dust,z
who are crusheda more readily than a moth!b
20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
unnoticed, they perish forever.c
21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,d