Job 3
1 After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day,
After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day,
2 saying,
and this is what he said:
3 Let the day perish in which I was born, and that night in which they said, Behold a boy!
May the day perish on which I was born, and the night, in which it was said, “A man has been conceived.”
4 Let that night be darkness, and let not the Lord regard it from above, neither let light come upon it.
May that day be turned into darkness, may God not seek it from above, and may light not illuminate it.
5 But let darkness and the shadow of death seize it; let blackness come upon it;
Let darkness and the shadow of death obscure it, let a fog overtake it, and let it be enveloped in bitterness.
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.
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.
7 But let that night be pain, and let not mirth come upon it, nor joy.
May that night be alone and unworthy of praise.
8 But let him that curses that day curse it, [even] he that is ready to attack the great whale.
May they curse it, who curse the day, who are prepared to awaken a leviathan.
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 the stars be concealed with its darkness. Let it expect light, and not see it, nor the rising of the dawn in the East.
10 because it shut not up the gates of my mother's womb, for [so] it would have removed sorrow from my eyes.
For it did not close the doors of the womb that bore me, nor take away evils 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 I not die in the womb? Having left the womb, why did I not immediately perish?
12 and why did the knees support me? and why did I suck the breasts?
Why was I received upon the knees? Why was I suckled at the breasts?
13 Now I should have lain down and been quiet, I should have slept and been at rest,
For by now, I should have been sleeping silently, and taking rest in my sleep
14 with kings [and] councillors of the earth, who gloried in [their] swords;
with the kings and consuls of the earth, who build themselves solitudes,
15 or with rulers, whose gold was abundant, who filled their houses with silver:
either with princes, who possess gold and fill their houses with 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, like a hidden miscarriage, I should not have continued, just like those who, being conceived, have not seen the light.
17 There the ungodly have burnt out the fury of rage; there the wearied in body rest.
There the impious cease from rebellion, and there the wearied in strength take rest.
18 And the men of old time have together ceased to hear the exactor's voice.
And at such times, having been bound together without difficulty, they have not heard the voice of the bailiff.
19 The small and great are there, and the servant that feared his lord.
The small and 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 is light given to the miserable, and life to those who are in bitterness of soul,
21 who desire death, and obtain it not, digging [for it] as [for] treasures;
who expect death, and it does not arrive, like those who dig for treasure
22 and would be very joyful if they should gain it?
and who rejoice greatly when they have found the grave,
23 Death [is] rest to [such] a man, for God has hedged him in.
to a man whose way is hidden and whom God has surrounded with darkness?
24 For my groaning comes before my food, and I weep being beset with terror.
Before I eat, I sigh; and like overflowing waters, so is my howl,
25 For the terror of which I meditated has come upon me, and that which I had feared has befallen me.
for the terror that I feared has happened to me, and so has the dread befallen me.
26 I was not at peace, nor quiet, nor had I rest; yet wrath came upon me.
Have I not remained hidden? Have I not kept silence? Have I not remained calm? Yet indignation has overcome me.
