Job 3

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

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

2 So then Job began, and said:

saying,

3 Perish, the day wherein I was born, and the night it was said, Lo! a manchild!

Let the day perish in which I was born, and that night in which they said, Behold a boy!

4 That day, be it darkness, —Let not God enquire after it from above, May there shine upon it no clear beam:

Let that night be darkness, and let not the Lord regard it from above, neither let light come upon it.

5 Let darkness and death-shade buy it back, May there settle down upon it a cloud, Let a day’s dark eclipse cause it terror:

But let darkness and the shadow of death seize it; let blackness come upon it;

6 That night, darkness take it, —May it not rejoice among the days of the year, Into the number of months, let it not enter.

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.

7 Lo! that night, be it barren, Let no joyous shouting enter therein:

But let that night be pain, and let not mirth come upon it, nor joy.

8 Let day-cursers denounce it, Those skilled in rousing the dragon of the sky:

But let him that curses that day curse it, [even] he that is ready to attack the great whale.

9 Darkened be the stars of its twilight, —Let it wait for light, and there be none, neither let it see the eyelashes of the dawn:

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:

10 Because it closed not the doors of the womb wherein I was, and so hid trouble from mine eyes.

because it shut not up the gates of my mother's womb, for [so] it would have removed sorrow from my eyes.

11 Wherefore, in the womb, did I not die? From the womb, come forth and cease to breathe?

For why died I not in the belly? and [why] did I not come forth from the womb and die immediately?

12 For what reason, were there prepared for me—knees? and why—breasts, that I might suck?

and why did the knees support me? and why did I suck the breasts?

13 Surely, at once, had I lain down, and been quiet, I had fallen asleep, then, had I been at rest:

Now I should have lain down and been quiet, I should have slept and been at rest,

14 With kings, and counselors of the earth, who had built them pyramids:

with kings [and] councillors of the earth, who gloried in [their] swords;

15 Or with rulers possessing, gold, —Who had filled their houses with silver:

or with rulers, whose gold was abundant, who filled their houses with silver:

16 Or that, like an untimely birth hidden away, I had not come into being, like infants that never saw light:

or [I should have been] as an untimely birth proceeding from his mother's womb, or as infants who never saw light.

17 There, the lawless, cease from raging, and there the toil-worn are at rest:

There the ungodly have burnt out the fury of rage; there the wearied in body rest.

18 At once are prisoners at peace, they hear not the voice of a driver:

And the men of old time have together ceased to hear the exactor's voice.

19 Small and great, there, they are, and, the slave, is free from his master.

The small and great are there, and the servant that feared his lord.

20 Wherefore give, to the wretched, light? Or, life, to the embittered in soul?—

For why is light given to those who are in bitterness, and life to those souls which are in griefs?

21 Who long for death, and it is not, And have digged for it, beyond hid treasures:

who desire death, and obtain it not, digging [for it] as [for] treasures;

22 Who rejoice unto exultation, Are glad, when they can find the grave:

and would be very joyful if they should gain it?

23 To a man, whose way is concealed, And GOD hath straitly enclosed him?

Death [is] rest to [such] a man, for God has hedged him in.

24 For, in the face of my food, my sighing, cometh in, and, poured out like the water, are my groans:

For my groaning comes before my food, and I weep being beset with terror.

25 For, a dread, I dreaded, and it hath come upon me, and, that from which I shrank, hath overtaken me.

For the terror of which I meditated has come upon me, and that which I had feared has befallen me.

26 I was not careless, nor was I secure, nor had I settled down, —when there came—consternation!

I was not at peace, nor quiet, nor had I rest; yet wrath came upon me.