Job 3

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

2And Job spake, and said,footnote a

3Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.

4Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

5Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.footnote bfootnote c

6As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.footnote d

7Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.

8Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.footnote e

9Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:footnote f

10Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

11Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?

12Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?

13For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

14With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;

15Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:

16Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.

17There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.footnote g

18There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.

19The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.

20Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;

21Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;footnote h

22Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?

23Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?

24For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.footnote i

25For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.footnote j

26I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

Job Laments His Birth

1After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2And this is what he said:

3“May the day of my birth perish,and the night it was said,‘A boy is conceived.’ 4If only that day had turned to darkness!May God above disregard it;may no light shine upon it. 5May darkness and gloom reclaim it,and a cloud settle over it;may the blackness of the day overwhelm it. 6If only darkness had taken that night away!May it not appear among the days of the year;may it never be entered in any of the months. 7Behold, may that night be barren;may no joyful voice come into it. 8May it be cursed by those who curse the dayfootnote a—those prepared to rouse Leviathan. 9May its morning stars grow dark;may it wait in vain for daylight;may it not see the breaking of dawn. 10For that night did not shut the doors of the wombto hide the sorrow from my eyes.

11Why did I not perish at birth;why did I not die as I came from the womb? 12Why were there knees to receive me,and breasts that I should be nursed? 13For now I would be lying down in peace;I would be asleep and at rest 14with kings and counselors of the earth,who built for themselves cities now in ruins, 15or with princes who had gold,who filled their houses with silver. 16Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child,like an infant who never sees daylight? 17There the wicked cease from raging,and there the weary find rest. 18The captives enjoy their ease;they do not hear the voice of the oppressor. 19Both small and great are there,and the slave is freed from his master.

20Why is light given to the miserable,and life to the bitter of soul, 21who long for death that does not come,and search for it like hidden treasure, 22who rejoice and greatly exultwhen they reach the grave? 23Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden,whom God has hedged in? 24I sigh when food is put before me,and my groans pour out like water. 25For the thing I feared has overtaken me,and what I dreaded has befallen me. 26I am not at ease or quiet;I have no rest, for trouble has come.”