Job 3

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

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

2 And Job commenced, and said,

And he said:

3 Oh that the day whereon I was born might perish, and the night when it was said, There hath been a male child conceived.

Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said: A man child is conceived.

4 May that day be [covered with] darkness; may not God from above inquire for it, and may no light beam upon it.

Let that day be turned into darkness, let not God regard it from above, and let not the light shine upon it.

5 Oh that darkness and the shadow of death might defile it; may a cloud rest upon it; may the blackness of the day terrify it.

Let darkness, and the shadow of death cover it, let a mist overspread it, and let it be wrapped up in bitterness.

6 Yon night — let darkness seize upon it; let it not be united to the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the [periods lighted by the] moon.

Let a darksome whirlwind seize upon that night, let it not be counted in the days of the year, nor numbered in the months.

7 Lo, may that night be solitary, let no song of joy occur thereon.

Let that night be solitary, and not worthy of praise.

8 Let those denounce it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning cry.

Let them curse it who curse the day. who are ready to raise up a leviathan:

9 Let the stars of its twilight be darkened; let it hope for light, and there be none; and let it not behold the eyelids of the morning-dawn;

Let the stars be darkened with the mist thereof: let it expect light and not see it, nor the rising of the dawning of the day:

10 Because God closed not against me the doors of the womb, and thus concealed trouble from my eyes.

Because it shut not up the doors of the womb that bore me, nor took away evils from my eyes.

11 Why did I not die [the moment I issued] from the womb, and [why] was I not born merely to perish at once?

Why did I not die in the womb, why did I not perish when I came out of the belly?

12 Wherefore were knees ready to receive me? and for what purpose were breasts there that I might suck?

Why received upon the knees? why suckled at the breasts?

13 For now should I be lying still and be quiet; I should sleep: then would I be at rest,

For now I should have been asleep and still, and should have rest in my sleep.

14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, who build up ruined places for themselves;

With kings and consuls of the earth, who build themselves solitudes:

15 Or with princes possessing gold, who fill their houses with silver;

Or with princes, that possess gold, and All their houses with silver:

16 Or as an untimely birth, hidden [from view] I should not exist; as infants that never have seen the light;

Or as a hidden untimely birth I should not be, or as they that being conceived have not seen the light.

17 There [where] the wicked cease from troubling; and where the exhausted weary are at rest;

There the wicked cease from tumult, and there the wearied in strength are at rest.

18 [Where] the prisoners repose together, [and] they hear no more the taskmaster's voice.

And they sometime bound together without disquiet, have not heard the voice of the oppressor.

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

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

20 Wherefore giveth He now light to the labor-laden, and life unto the bitter in soul?

Why is light given to him that is in misery, and life to them that are in bitterness of soul?

21 Who wait for death, which [cometh] not; and who dig for it sooner than for hidden treasures;

That look for death, and it cometh not, as they that dig for a treasure:

22 Who would rejoice even to exulting, who would be glad could they but find a grave?

And they rejoice exceedingly when they have found the grave.

23 [Why is light given] to a man whose way is hidden, and around whom God hath placed a fence?

To a man whose way is hidden, and God hath surrounded him with darkness?

24 For before my food cometh my groaning, and like the water are poured forth my loud complaints.

Before I eat I sigh: and as overflowing waters, so is my roaring:

25 Because what I greatly dreaded is come upon me, and what I apprehended is come unto me.

For the fear which I feared hath come upon me: and that which I was afraid of, hath befallen me.

26 I have had no safety, and no quiet, and no rest; and [now] harrowing trouble is come.

Have I not dissembled? have I not kept silence? have I not been quiet? and indignation is come upon me.