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[1] curse that day, 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 rest14with 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.’
Job 3
English Standard Version
Job Laments His Birth
1After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. (Job 33:2; Ps 78:2)2And Job said:3“Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, ‘A man is conceived.’ (Job 10:18; Jer 20:14)4Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it.5Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. (Job 10:21; Job 12:22; Job 24:17; Job 28:3; Job 34:22; Job 38:17; Ps 23:4; Isa 9:2; Mt 4:16)6That night—let thick darkness seize it! Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months.7Behold, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry enter it.8Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan. (Job 41:1)9Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none, nor see the eyelids of the morning, (Job 41:18)10because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes.11“Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire? (Job 10:18)12Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? (Ge 30:3; Ge 50:23; Isa 66:12)13For then I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,14with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuilt ruins for themselves, (Isa 58:12)15or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.16Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light? (Ps 58:8; Ec 6:3; 1Co 15:8)17There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. (Job 17:16)18There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice of the taskmaster. (Ex 3:7)19The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master.20“Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, (Pr 31:6)21who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, (Pr 2:4; Re 9:6)22who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave?23Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? (Job 1:10; Job 19:8; Isa 40:27)24For my sighing comes instead of[1] my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. (Ps 22:1; Ps 38:8; Ps 42:3; Ps 80:5; Ps 102:9)25For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. (Pr 10:24)26I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes.”