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 and this is what he said:

Job made answer and said,

3 May the day perish on which I was born, and the night, in which it was said, “A man has been conceived.”

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 May that day be turned into darkness, may God not seek it from above, and may light not illuminate 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 Let darkness and the shadow of death obscure it, let a fog overtake it, and let it be enveloped in bitterness.

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 a whirlwind of darkness take hold of that night, let it not be counted in the days of the year, nor numbered in 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 May that night be alone and unworthy of praise.

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

8 May they curse it, who curse the day, who are prepared to awaken a leviathan.

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

9 Let the stars be concealed with its darkness. Let it expect light, and not see it, nor the rising of the dawn in the East.

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 For it did not close the doors of the womb that bore me, nor take away evils 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 Why did I not die in the womb? Having left the womb, why did I not immediately perish?

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 Why was I received upon the knees? Why was I suckled at the breasts?

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

13 For by now, I should have been sleeping silently, and taking rest in my sleep

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

14 with the kings and consuls of the earth, who build themselves solitudes,

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

15 either with princes, who possess gold and fill their houses with silver,

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

16 or, like a hidden miscarriage, I should not have continued, just like those who, being conceived, have not seen the 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 impious cease from rebellion, and there the wearied in strength take rest.

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

18 And at such times, having been bound together without difficulty, they have not heard the voice of the bailiff.

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 is free from his master.

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

20 Why is light given to the miserable, and life to those who are in bitterness of soul,

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

21 who expect death, and it does not arrive, like those who dig for treasure

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

22 and who rejoice greatly when they have found the grave,

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

23 to a man whose way is hidden and whom God has surrounded with darkness?

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

24 Before I eat, I sigh; and like overflowing waters, so is my howl,

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

25 for the terror that I feared has happened to me, and so has the dread befallen me.

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

26 Have I not remained hidden? Have I not kept silence? Have I not remained calm? Yet indignation has overcome me.

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