Job 3
1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
Post hæc aperuit Job os suum, et maledixit diei suo,
2 And this is what he said:
et locutus est:
3 “May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is conceived.’
Pereat dies in qua natus sum, et nox in qua dictum est: Conceptus est homo.
4 If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above disregard it; may no light shine upon it.
Dies ille vertatur in tenebras: non requirat eum Deus desuper, et non illustretur lumine.
5 May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it; may the blackness of the day overwhelm it.
Obscurent eum tenebræ et umbra mortis; occupet eum caligo, et involvatur amaritudine.
6 If 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.
Noctem illam tenebrosus turbo possideat; non computetur in diebus anni, nec numeretur in mensibus.
7 Behold, may that night be barren; may no joyful voice come into it.
Sit nox illa solitaria, nec laude digna.
8 May it be cursed by those who curse the day — those prepared to rouse Leviathan.
Maledicant ei qui maledicunt diei, qui parati sunt suscitare Leviathan.
9 May its morning stars grow dark; may it wait in vain for daylight; may it not see the breaking of dawn.
Obtenebrentur stellæ caligine ejus; expectet lucem, et non videat, nec ortum surgentis auroræ.
10 For that night did not shut the doors of the womb to hide the sorrow from my eyes.
Quia non conclusit ostia ventris qui portavit me, nec abstulit mala ab oculis meis.
11 Why did I not perish at birth; why did I not die as I came from the womb?
Quare non in vulva mortuus sum? egressus ex utero non statim perii?
12 Why were there knees to receive me, and breasts that I should be nursed?
Quare exceptus genibus? cur lactatus uberibus?
13 For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest
Nunc enim dormiens silerem, et somno meo requiescerem
14 with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves cities now in ruins,
cum regibus et consulibus terræ, qui ædificant sibi solitudines;
15 or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.
aut cum principibus qui possident aurum, et replent domos suas argento;
16 Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, like an infant who never sees daylight?
aut sicut abortivum absconditum non subsisterem, vel qui concepti non viderunt lucem.
17 There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary find rest.
Ibi impii cessaverunt a tumultu, et ibi requieverunt fessi robore.
18 The captives enjoy their ease; they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.
Et quondam vincti pariter sine molestia, non audierunt vocem exactoris.
19 Both small and great are there, and the slave is freed from his master.
Parvus et magnus ibi sunt, et servus liber a domino suo.
20 Why is light given to the miserable, and life to the bitter of soul,
Quare misero data est lux, et vita his qui in amaritudine animæ sunt:
21 who long for death that does not come, and search for it like hidden treasure,
qui expectant mortem, et non venit, quasi effodientes thesaurum;
22 who rejoice and greatly exult when they can find the grave?
gaudentque vehementer cum invenerint sepulchrum?
23 Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?
viro cujus abscondita est via et circumdedit eum Deus tenebris?
24 I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water.
Antequam comedam, suspiro; et tamquam inundantes aquæ, sic rugitus meus:
25 For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has befallen me.
quia timor quem timebam evenit mihi, et quod verebar accidit.
26 I am not at ease or quiet; I have no rest, for trouble has come.”
Nonne dissimulavi? nonne silui? nonne quievi? et venit super me indignatio.
