Job 3
1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day,
Post hæc aperuit Iob os suum, et maledixit diei suo,
2 and this is what he said:
et locutus est.
3 May the day perish on which I was born, and the night, in which it was said, “A man has been conceived.”
Pereat dies in qua natus sum, et nox in qua dictum est: Conceptus est homo.
4 May that day be turned into darkness, may God not seek it from above, and may light not illuminate it.
Dies ille vertatur in tenebras, non requirat eum Deus desuper, et non illustretur lumine.
5 Let darkness and the shadow of death obscure it, let a fog overtake it, and let it be enveloped in bitterness.
Obscurent eum tenebræ et umbra mortis, occupet eum caligo, et involvatur amaritudine.
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.
Noctem illam tenebrosus turbo possideat, non computetur in diebus anni, nec numeretur in mensibus:
7 May that night be alone and unworthy of praise.
Sit nox illa solitaria, nec laude digna:
8 May they curse it, who curse the day, who are prepared to awaken a leviathan.
Maledicant ei qui maledicunt diei, qui parati sunt suscitare Leviathan:
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.
Obtenebrentur stellæ caligine eius: expectet lucem et non videat, nec ortum surgentis auroræ:
10 For it did not close the doors of the womb that bore me, nor take away evils from my eyes.
Quia non conclusit ostia ventris, qui portavit me, nec abstulit mala ab oculis meis.
11 Why did I not die in the womb? Having left the womb, why did I not immediately perish?
Quare non in vulva mortuus sum, egressus ex utero non statim perii?
12 Why was I received upon the knees? Why was I suckled at the breasts?
Quare exceptus genibus? cur lactatus uberibus?
13 For by now, I should have been sleeping silently, and taking rest in my sleep
Nunc enim dormiens silerem, et somno meo requiescerem:
14 with the kings and consuls of the earth, who build themselves solitudes,
Cum regibus et consulibus terræ, qui ædificant sibi solitudines:
15 either with princes, who possess gold and fill their houses with silver,
Aut cum principibus, qui possident aurum, et replent domos suas argento:
16 or, like a hidden miscarriage, I should not have continued, just like those who, being conceived, have not seen the light.
Aut sicut abortivum absconditum non subsisterem, vel qui concepti non viderunt lucem.
17 There the impious cease from rebellion, and there the wearied in strength take rest.
Ibi impii cessaverunt a tumultu, et ibi requieverunt fessi robore.
18 And at such times, having been bound together without difficulty, they have not heard the voice of the bailiff.
Et quondam vincti pariter sine molestia, non audierunt vocem exactoris.
19 The small and great are there, and the servant is free 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 those who are in bitterness of soul,
Quare misero data est lux, et vita his, qui in amaritudine animæ sunt?
21 who expect death, and it does not arrive, like those who dig for treasure
qui expectant mortem, et non venit, quasi effodientes thesaurum:
22 and who rejoice greatly when they have found the grave,
Gaudentque vehementer cum invenerint sepulchrum.
23 to a man whose way is hidden and whom God has surrounded with darkness?
Viro cuius abscondita est via, et circumdedit eum Deus tenebris?
24 Before I eat, I sigh; and like overflowing waters, so is my howl,
Antequam comedam suspiro: et tamquam inundantes aquæ, sic rugitus meus:
25 for the terror that I feared has happened to me, and so has the dread befallen me.
Quia timor, quem timebam, evenit mihi: et quod verebar accidit.
26 Have I not remained hidden? Have I not kept silence? Have I not remained calm? Yet indignation has overcome me.
Nonne dissimulavi? nonne silui? nonne quievi? et venit super me indignatio.
