Job 3–41

Job Speaks

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.^a He said:

“May the day of my birth perish,

and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’^b

That day—may it turn to darkness;

may God above not care about it;

may no light shine on it.

May gloom and utter darkness^c claim it once more;

may a cloud settle over it;

may blackness overwhelm it.

That night—may thick darkness^d seize it;

may it not be included among the days of the year

nor be entered in any of the months.

May that night be barren;

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

May those who curse days curse that day,^f

those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.^g

May its morning stars become dark;

may it wait for daylight in vain

and not see the first rays of dawn,^h

for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me

to hide trouble from my eyes.

“Why did I not perish at birth,

and die as I came from the womb?ⁱ

Why were there knees to receive me^j

and breasts that I might be nursed?

For now I would be lying down^k in peace;

I would be asleep and at rest^l

with kings and rulers of the earth,^m

who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,ⁿ

with princes^o who had gold,

who filled their houses with silver.^p

Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,^q

like an infant who never saw the light of day?^r

There the wicked cease from turmoil,^s

and there the weary are at rest.^t

Captives^u also enjoy their ease;

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

The small and the great are there,^x

and the slaves are freed from their owners.

“Why is light given to those in misery,

and life to the bitter of soul,^y

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

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

who are filled with gladness

and rejoice when they reach the grave?^b

Why is life given to a man

whose way is hidden,^c

whom God has hedged in?^d

For sighing^e has become my daily food;^f

my groans^g pour out like water.^h

What I feared has come upon me;

what I dreadedⁱ has happened to me.^j

I have no peace,^k no quietness;

I have no rest,^l but only turmoil.”^m

Eliphaz

Then Eliphaz the Temanite^a replied:

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

But who can keep from speaking?^b

Think how you have instructed many,^c

how you have strengthened feeble hands.^d

Your words have supported those who stumbled;^e

you have strengthened faltering knees.^f

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

it strikes^h you, and you are dismayed.ⁱ

Should not your piety be your confidence^j

and your blameless^k ways your hope?

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

Where were the upright ever destroyed?^m

As I have observed,ⁿ those who plow evil^o

and those who sow trouble reap it.^p

At the breath of God^q they perish;

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

The lions may roar^s and growl,

yet the teeth of the great lions^t are broken.^u

The lion perishes for lack of prey,^v

and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.^w

“A word^x was secretly brought to me,

my ears caught a whisper^y of it.^z

Amid disquieting dreams in the night,

when deep sleep falls on people,^a

fear and trembling^b seized me

and made all my bones shake.^c

A spirit glided past my face,

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

It stopped,

but I could not tell what it was.

A form stood before my eyes,

and I heard a hushed voice:^e

‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?^f

Can human beings be more pure than their Maker?^g

If God places no trust in his servants,^h

if he charges his angels with error,ⁱ

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

whose foundations^k are in the dust,^l

who are crushed^m more readily than a moth!ⁿ

Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;

unnoticed, they perish forever.^o

Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,^p

so that they die^q without wisdom?’^r

“Call if you will, but who will answer you?^s

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

Resentment^u kills a fool,

and envy slays the simple.^v

I myself have seen^w a fool taking root,^x

but suddenly^y his house was cursed.^z

His children^a are far from safety,^b

crushed in court^c without a defender.^d

The hungry consume his harvest,^e

taking it even from among thorns,

and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

For hardship does not spring from the soil,

nor does trouble sprout from the ground.^f

Yet human beings are born to trouble^g

as surely as sparks fly upward.

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

I would lay my cause before him.^h

He performs wondersⁱ that cannot be fathomed,^j

miracles that cannot be counted.^k

He bestows rain on the earth;^l

he sends water on the countryside.^m

The lowly he sets on high,ⁿ

and those who mourn^o are lifted^p to safety.

He thwarts the plans^q of the crafty,

so that their hands achieve no success.^r

He catches the wise^s in their craftiness,^t

and the schemes of the wily are swept away.^u

Darkness^v comes upon them in the daytime;

at noon they grope as in the night.^w

He saves the needy^x from the sword in their mouth;

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

So the poor^z have hope,

and injustice shuts its mouth.^a

“Blessed are those whom God corrects;^b

so do not despise the discipline^c of the Almighty.^d

For he wounds, but he also binds up;^e

he injures, but his hands also heal.^f

From six calamities he will rescue^g you;

in seven no harm will touch you.^h

In famineⁱ he will deliver you from death,

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

You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,^k

and need not fear^l when destruction comes.^m

You will laughⁿ at destruction and famine,^o

and need not fear the wild animals.^p

For you will have a covenant^q with the stones^r of the field,

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

You will know that your tent is secure;^t

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

You will know that your children will be many,^v

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

You will come to the grave in full vigor,^x

like sheaves gathered in season.^y

“We have examined this, and it is true.

So hear it^z and apply it to yourself.”^a

Job

Then Job replied:

“If only my anguish could be weighed

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

It would surely outweigh the sand^b of the seas—

no wonder my words have been impetuous.^c

The arrows^d of the Almighty^e are in me,^f

my spirit drinks^g in their poison;^h

God’s terrorsⁱ are marshaled against me.^j

Does a wild donkey^k bray^l when it has grass,

or an ox bellow when it has fodder?^m

Is tasteless food eaten without salt,

or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow?ⁿ

I refuse to touch it;

such food makes me ill.^o

“Oh, that I might have my request,

that God would grant what I hope for,^p

that God would be willing to crush^q me,

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

Then I would still have this consolation^s—

my joy in unrelenting pain^t—

that I had not denied the words^u of the Holy One.^v

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

What prospects, that I should be patient?^w

Do I have the strength of stone?

Is my flesh bronze?^x

Do I have any power to help myself,^y

now that success has been driven from me?

“Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend^z

forsakes the fear of the Almighty.^a

But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,^b

as the streams that overflow

when darkened by thawing ice

and swollen with melting snow,^c

but that cease to flow in the dry season,

and in the heat^d vanish from their channels.

Caravans turn aside from their routes;

they go off into the wasteland and perish.

The caravans of Tema^e look for water,

the traveling merchants of Sheba^f look in hope.

They are distressed, because they had been confident;

they arrive there, only to be disappointed.^g

Now you too have proved to be of no help;

you see something dreadful and are afraid.^h

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

pay a ransomⁱ for me from your wealth,^j

deliver me from the hand of the enemy,

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

“Teach me, and I will be quiet;^l

show me where I have been wrong.^m

How painful are honest words!ⁿ

But what do your arguments prove?

Do you mean to correct what I say,

and treat my desperate words as wind?^o

You would even cast lots^p for the fatherless^q

and barter away your friend.

“But now be so kind as to look at me.

Would I lie to your face?^r

Relent, do not be unjust;^s

reconsider, for my integrity^t is at stake.^u

Is there any wickedness on my lips?^v

Can my mouth not discern^w malice?

“Do not mortals have hard service^x on earth?^y

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

Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,^a

or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,^b

so I have been allotted months of futility,

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

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

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

My body is clothed with worms^f and scabs,

my skin is broken and festering.^g

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

and they come to an end without hope.ⁱ

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

my eyes will never see happiness again.^k

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

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

As a cloud vanishes^m and is gone,

so those who go down to the graveⁿ do not return.^o

They will never come to their homes again;

their places^p will know them no more.^q

“Therefore I will not keep silent;^r

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

I will complain^t in the bitterness of my soul.^u

Am I the sea,^v or the monster of the deep,^w

that you put me under guard?^x

When I think my bed will comfort me

and my couch will ease my complaint,^y

even then you frighten me with dreams

and terrify^z me with visions,^a

so that I prefer strangling and death,^b

rather than this body of mine.^c

I despise my life;^d I would not live forever.^e

Let me alone;^f my days have no meaning.^g

“What are human beings that you make so much of them,

that you give them so much attention,^h

that you examine them every morningⁱ

and test them^j every moment?^k

Will you never look away from me,^l

or let me alone even for an instant?^m

If I have sinned, what have I done to you,ⁿ

you who watch over us all?

Why have you made me your target?^o

Have I become a burden to you?^p

Why do you not pardon my offenses

and forgive my sins?^q

For I will soon lie down in the dust;…