Job 3

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

Then, opening his mouth, and cursing the day of his birth,

2 saying,

Job made answer and said,

3 Let the day perish in which I was born, and that night in which they said, Behold a man-child!

Let destruction take the day of my birth, and the night on which it was said, A man child has come into the world.

4 Let that night be darkness, and let not the Lord regard it from above, neither let light come upon it.

That day — let it be dark; let not God take note of it from on high, and let not the light be shining on it;

5 But let darkness and the shadow of death seize it; let blackness come upon it;

Let the dark and the black night take it for themselves; let it be covered with a cloud; let the dark shades of day send fear on it.

6 let that day and night be cursed, let darkness carry them away; let it not come into the days of the year, neither let it be numbered with the days of the months.

That night — let the thick dark take it; let it not have joy among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months.

7 But let that night be pain, and let not mirth come upon it, nor joy.

As for that night, let it have no fruit; let no voice of joy be sounded in it;

8 But let him that curses that day curse it, [even] he that is ready to attack the great whale.

Let it be cursed by those who put a curse on the day; who are ready to make Leviathan awake.

9 Let the stars of that night be darkened; let it remain [dark], and not come into light; and let it not see the morning star arise:

Let its morning stars be dark; let it be looking for light, but may it not have any; let it not see the eyes of the dawn.

10 because it shut not up the gates of my mother's womb, for [so] it would have removed sorrow from my eyes.

Because it did not keep the doors of my mother's body shut, so that trouble might be veiled from my eyes.

11 For why died I not in the belly? and [why] did I not come forth from the womb and die immediately?

Why did death not take me when I came out of my mother's body, why did I not, when I came out, give up my last breath?

12 and why did the knees support me? and why did I suck the breasts?

Why did the knees take me, or why the breasts that they might give me milk?

13 Now I should have lain down and been quiet, I should have slept and been at rest,

For then I might have gone to my rest in quiet, and in sleep have been in peace,

14 with kings [and] councillors of the earth, who gloried in [their] swords;

With kings and the wise ones of the earth, who put up great houses for themselves;

15 or with rulers, whose gold was abundant, who filled their houses with silver:

Or with rulers who had gold, and whose houses were full of silver;

16 or [I should have been] as an untimely birth proceeding from his mother's womb, or as infants who never saw light.

Or as a child dead at birth I might never have come into existence; like young children who have not seen the light.

17 There the ungodly have burnt out the fury of rage; there the wearied in body rest.

There the passions of the evil are over, and those whose strength has come to an end have rest.

18 And the men of old time have together ceased to hear the exactor's voice.

There the prisoners are at peace together; the voice of the overseer comes not again to their ears.

19 The small and great are there, and the servant that feared his lord.

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

20 For why is light given to those who are in bitterness, and life to those souls which are in griefs?

Why does he give light to him who is in trouble, and life to the bitter in soul;

21 who desire death, and obtain it not, digging [for it] as [for] treasures;

To those whose desire is for death, but it comes not; who are searching for it more than for secret wealth;

22 and would be very joyful if they should gain it?

Who are glad with great joy, and full of delight when they come to their last resting-place;

23 Death [is] rest to [such] a man, for God has hedged him in.

To a man whose way is veiled, and who is shut in by God?

24 For my groaning comes before my food, and I weep being beset with terror.

In place of my food I have grief, and cries of sorrow come from me like water.

25 For the terror of which I meditated has come upon me, and that which I had feared has befallen me.

For I have a fear and it comes on me, and my heart is greatly troubled.

26 I was not at peace, nor quiet, nor had I rest; yet wrath came upon me.

I have no peace, no quiet, and no rest; nothing but pain comes on me.