Job 3

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