Job 3

Job Speaks

¹After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

²He said:

³“May the day of my birth perish,

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

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 claim it once more;

may a cloud settle over it;

may blackness overwhelm it.

⁶That night—may thick darkness 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 be heard in it.

⁸May those who curse days curse that day,[#3:8 Or curse the sea]

those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.

⁹May its morning stars become dark;

may it wait for daylight in vain

and not see the first rays of dawn,

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?

¹²Why were there knees to receive me

and breasts that I might be nursed?

¹³For now I would be lying down in peace;

I would be asleep and at rest

¹⁴with kings and rulers of the earth,

who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,

¹⁵with princes who had gold,

who filled their houses with silver.

¹⁶Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,

like an infant who never saw the light of day?

¹⁷There the wicked cease from turmoil,

and there the weary are at rest.

¹⁸Captives also enjoy their ease;

they no longer hear the slave driver’s shout.

¹⁹The small and the great are there,

and the slaves are freed from their owners.

²⁰“Why is light given to those in misery,

and life to the bitter of soul,

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

who search for it more than for hidden treasure,

²²who are filled with gladness

and rejoice when they reach the grave?

²³Why is life given to a man

whose way is hidden,

whom God has hedged in?

²⁴For sighing has become my daily food;

my groans pour out like water.

²⁵What I feared has come upon me;

what I dreaded has happened to me.

²⁶I have no peace, no quietness;

I have no rest, but only turmoil.”