Job 3
1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day,
Finally, Job spoke, and he cursed the day that he was born.
2 and this is what he said:
He said,
3 May the day perish on which I was born, and the night, in which it was said, “A man has been conceived.”
“I wish that the day when I was born could be eradicated, and also the night when I was conceived.
4 May that day be turned into darkness, may God not seek it from above, and may light not illuminate it.
I wish that the day when I was born would have been covered in darkness. I wish that God who is in heaven [MTY] would have forgotten about that day, and that the sun would not have shone on it.
5 Let darkness and the shadow of death obscure it, let a fog overtake it, and let it be enveloped in bitterness.
I wish that thick/intense darkness would have filled that day, and that a black cloud would have come over it and blotted out all light and caused people to be terrified.
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.
I wish that the night when I was conceived would be erased from the calendar, with the result that it would never again appear as one night in any month, and that it would not be included in any calendar.
7 May that night be alone and unworthy of praise.
I wish that no child would again be conceived on that night of the month [MET], and that no one would again be happy on that night.
8 May they curse it, who curse the day, who are prepared to awaken a leviathan.
I want those people who (curse/put evil spells on) days—those who know how to arouse/awaken the great sea monster—to curse that day.
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.
I wish that the stars that shone early in the morning on that day [after I was conceived] will not shine again. I want those stars to have wished in vain for light to shine; and that they would not have shone on that day.
10 For it did not close the doors of the womb that bore me, nor take away evils from my eyes.
[That was an evil day] because my mother was able to conceive; instead, I was born, and I have now experienced all these terrible things.
11 Why did I not die in the womb? Having left the womb, why did I not immediately perish?
“I wish that I had died [RHQ] when I was born— at the time I emerged from my mother’s womb.
12 Why was I received upon the knees? Why was I suckled at the breasts?
I wish that my mother had not [RHQ] allowed me to live. I wish that she had not nursed me.
13 For by now, I should have been sleeping silently, and taking rest in my sleep
If I had died at the time when I was born, I would be asleep, resting peacefully [in the place where the dead people are].
14 with the kings and consuls of the earth, who build themselves solitudes,
I would be resting with kings whose [beautiful palaces] that they built are now in ruins (OR, who rebuilt [palaces] that had previously been destroyed), and I would be resting with their officials [who have also died].
15 either with princes, who possess gold and fill their houses with silver,
I would be resting with princes who were wealthy, whose palaces were filled with gold and silver.
16 or, like a hidden miscarriage, I should not have continued, just like those who, being conceived, have not seen the light.
I wish that I had been buried like a child who died in its mother’s womb and never lived to see the light.
17 There the impious cease from rebellion, and there the wearied in strength take rest.
After wicked people die, they do not cause any more troubles; those who are very tired now will rest.
18 And at such times, having been bound together without difficulty, they have not heard the voice of the bailiff.
Those who were in prison rest peacefully [after they die]; they no longer have slave-drivers who curse them.
19 The small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master.
Rich people and poor people are alike after they die, and those who were slaves are no longer controlled by their masters.
20 Why is light given to the miserable, and life to those who are in bitterness of soul,
(“Why does God allow those who are suffering greatly [like me] to continue to remain alive?/I do not understand why God allows those who are suffering greatly [like me] to continue to remain alive.) [RHQ] Why does he allow those who are very miserable/distressed to keep living [RHQ]?
21 who expect death, and it does not arrive, like those who dig for treasure
They long/want to die, but they do not die. They desire to die more than people desire to find a hidden treasure.
22 and who rejoice greatly when they have found the grave,
When they finally die and are buried, they are very happy.
23 to a man whose way is hidden and whom God has surrounded with darkness?
Those who do not know where they are [eventually] going when they die [RHQ], people whom God has forced [MET] to continue to live in misery, (it is not right that they continue to live./why do they continue to live?) [RHQ]
24 Before I eat, I sigh; and like overflowing waters, so is my howl,
I continually cry very much; as a result, I cannot eat; and I can never stop groaning.
25 for the terror that I feared has happened to me, and so has the dread befallen me.
Things that I always worried might happen to me, have happened to me; things that I always dreaded have happened to me.
26 Have I not remained hidden? Have I not kept silence? Have I not remained calm? Yet indignation has overcome me.
Now I have no peace [in my inner being], I have no peace; I cannot rest; instead, I have only troubles.”
