Job 3–41

Job Speaks

3After 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

⁴That day—may it turn to darkness;

may God above not care about it;

may no light shine on it.

⁵May gloom and utter darkness^d claim it once more;

may a cloud settle over it;

may blackness overwhelm it.

⁶That night—may thick darkness^e seize it;

may it not be included among the days of the year

nor be entered in any of the months.

⁷May that night be barren;

may no shout of joy^f be heard in it.

⁸May those who curse days^a curse that day,^g

those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.^h

⁹May its morning stars become dark;

may it wait for daylight in vain

and not see the first rays of dawn,ⁱ

¹⁰for 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

¹²Why were there knees to receive me^k

and breasts that I might be nursed?

¹³For now I would be lying down^l in peace;

I would be asleep and at rest^m

¹⁴with kings and rulers of the earth,ⁿ

who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,^o

¹⁵with princes^p who had gold,

who filled their houses with silver.^q

¹⁶Or 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

¹⁷There the wicked cease from turmoil,^t

and there the weary are at rest.^u

¹⁸Captives^v also enjoy their ease;

they no longer hear the slave driver’s^w shout.^x

¹⁹The 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

²¹to those who long for death that does not come,^a

who search for it more than for hidden treasure,^b

²²who are filled with gladness

and rejoice when they reach the grave?^c

²³Why is life given to a man

whose way is hidden,^d

whom God has hedged in?^e

²⁴For sighing^f has become my daily food;^g

my groans^h pour out like water.ⁱ

²⁵What I feared has come upon me;

what I dreaded^j has happened to me.^k

²⁶I have no peace,^l no quietness;

I have no rest,^m but only turmoil.”ⁿ

Eliphaz

4Then Eliphaz the Temanite^o replied:

²“If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?

But who can keep from speaking?^p

³Think how you have instructed many,^q

how you have strengthened feeble hands.^r

⁴Your words have supported those who stumbled;^s

you have strengthened faltering knees.^t

⁵But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;^u

it strikes^v you, and you are dismayed.^w

⁶Should not your piety be your confidence^x

and your blameless^y ways your hope?

⁷“Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?^z

Where were the upright ever destroyed?^a

⁸As I have observed,^b those who plow evil^c

and those who sow trouble reap it.^d

⁹At the breath of God^e they perish;

at the blast of his anger they are no more.^f

¹⁰The lions may roar^g and growl,

yet the teeth of the great lions^h are broken.ⁱ

¹¹The lion perishes for lack of prey,^j

and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.^k

¹²“A word^l was secretly brought to me,

my ears caught a whisper^m of it.ⁿ

¹³Amid disquieting dreams in the night,

when deep sleep falls on people,^o

¹⁴fear and trembling^p seized me

and made all my bones shake.^q

¹⁵A spirit glided past my face,

and the hair on my body stood on end.^r

¹⁶It stopped,

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

¹⁸If God places no trust in his servants,^v

if he charges his angels with error,^w

¹⁹how much more those who live in houses of clay,^x

whose foundations^y are in the dust,^z

who are crushed^a more readily than a moth!^b

²⁰Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;

unnoticed, they perish forever.^c

²¹Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,^d

so that they die^e without wisdom?’^f

5“Call if you will, but who will answer you?^g

To which of the holy ones^h will you turn?

²Resentmentⁱ kills a fool,

and envy slays the simple.^j

³I myself have seen^k a fool taking root,^l

but suddenly^m his house was cursed.ⁿ

⁴His children^o are far from safety,^p

crushed in court^q without a defender.^r

⁵The hungry consume his harvest,^s

taking it even from among thorns,

and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

⁶For hardship does not spring from the soil,

nor does trouble sprout from the ground.^t

⁷Yet man is born to trouble^u

as surely as sparks fly upward.

⁸“But if I were you, I would appeal to God;

I would lay my cause before him.^v

⁹He performs wonders^w that cannot be fathomed,^x

miracles that cannot be counted.^y

¹⁰He provides rain for the earth;^z

he sends water on the countryside.^a

¹¹The lowly he sets on high,^b

and those who mourn^c are lifted^d to safety.

¹²He thwarts the plans^e of the crafty,

so that their hands achieve no success.^f

¹³He catches the wise^g in their craftiness,^h

and the schemes of the wily are swept away.ⁱ

¹⁴Darkness^j comes upon them in the daytime;

at noon they grope as in the night.^k

¹⁵He saves the needy^l from the sword in their mouth;

he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.^m

¹⁶So the poorⁿ have hope,

and injustice shuts its mouth.^o

¹⁷“Blessed is the one whom God corrects;^p

so do not despise the discipline^q of the Almighty.^ar

¹⁸For he wounds, but he also binds up;^s

he injures, but his hands also heal.^t

¹⁹From six calamities he will rescue^u you;

in seven no harm will touch you.^v

²⁰In famine^w he will deliver you from death,

and in battle from the stroke of the sword.^x

²¹You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,^y

and need not fear^z when destruction comes.^a

²²You will laugh^b at destruction and famine,^c

and need not fear the wild animals.^d

²³For you will have a covenant^e with the stones^f of the field,

and the wild animals will be at peace with you.^g

²⁴You will know that your tent is secure;^h

you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.ⁱ

²⁵You will know that your children will be many,^j

and your descendants like the grass of the earth.^k

²⁶You will come to the grave in full vigor,^l

like sheaves gathered in season.^m

²⁷“We have examined this, and it is true.

So hear itⁿ and apply it to yourself.”^o

Job

6Then Job replied:

²“If only my anguish could be weighed

and all my misery be placed on the scales!^p

³It would surely outweigh the sand^q of the seas—

no wonder my words have been impetuous.^r

⁴The arrows^s of the Almighty^t are in me,^u

my spirit drinks^v in their poison;^w

God’s terrors^x are marshaled against me.^y

⁵Does a wild donkey^z bray^a when it has grass,

or an ox bellow when it has fodder?^b

⁶Is tasteless food eaten without salt,

or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow^a?^c

⁷I refuse to touch it;

such food makes me ill.^d

⁸“Oh, that I might have my request,

that God would grant what I hope for,^e

⁹that God would be willing to crush^f me,

to let loose his hand and cut off my life!^g

¹⁰Then I would still have this consolation^h—

my joy in unrelenting painⁱ—

that I had not denied the words^j of the Holy One.^k

¹¹“What strength do I have, that I should still hope?

What prospects, that I should be patient?^l

¹²Do I have the strength of stone?

Is my flesh bronze?^m

¹³Do I have any power to help myself,ⁿ

now that success has been driven from me?

¹⁴“Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend^o

forsakes the fear of the Almighty.^p

¹⁵But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,^q

as the streams that overflow

¹⁶when darkened by thawing ice

and swollen with melting snow,^r

¹⁷but that stop flowing in the dry season,

and in the heat^s vanish from their channels.

¹⁸Caravans turn aside from their routes;

they go off into the wasteland and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of Tema^t look for water,

the traveling merchants of Sheba^u look in hope.

²⁰They are distressed, because they had been confident;

they arrive there, only to be disappointed.^v

²¹Now you too have proved to be of no help;

you see something dreadful and are afraid.^w

²²Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,

pay a ransom^x for me from your wealth,^y

²³deliver me from the hand of the enemy,

rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?^z

²⁴“Teach me, and I will be quiet;^a

show me where I have been wrong.^b

²⁵How painful are honest words!^c

But what do your arguments prove?

²⁶Do you mean to correct what I say,

and treat my desperate words as wind?^d

²⁷You would even cast lots^e for the fatherless^f

and barter away your friend.

²⁸“But now be so kind as to look at me.

Would I lie to your face?^g

²⁹Relent, do not be unjust;^h

reconsider, for my integrityⁱ is at stake.^bj

³⁰Is there any wickedness on my lips?^k

Can my mouth not discern^l malice?

7“Do not mortals have hard service^m on earth?ⁿ

Are not their days like those of hired laborers?^o

²Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,^p

or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,^q

³so I have been allotted months of futility,

and nights of misery have been assigned to me.^r

⁴When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’^s

The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.^t

⁵My body is clothed with worms^u and scabs,

my skin is broken and festering.^v

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

and they come to an end without hope.^x

⁷Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;^y

my eyes will never see happiness again.^z

⁸The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;

you will look for me, but I will be no more.^a

⁹As a cloud vanishes^b and is gone,

so one who goes down to the grave^c does not return.^d

¹⁰He will never come to his house again;

his place^e will know him no more.^f

¹¹“Therefore I will not keep silent;^g

I will speak out in the anguish^h of my spirit,

I will complainⁱ in the bitterness of my soul.^j

¹²Am I the sea,^k or the monster of the deep,^l

that you put me under guard?^m

¹³When I think my bed will comfort me

and my couch will ease my complaint,ⁿ

¹⁴even then you frighten me with dreams

and terrify^o me with visions,^p

¹⁵so that I prefer strangling and death,^q

rather than this…