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Job complains to God [ a ]

3 Finally, Job decided to speak. He cursed the day when he was born.

2 This is what Job said:

3 ‘Forget the day of my birth.
Forget the night when a son was born to my parents.
4 That day should be completely dark,
with no light to shine on it!
God in heaven above should not even think about it.
5 That day should remain in a dark shadow.
Clouds should cover it so that everywhere is black.
6 Remove that night completely!
It should no longer be a date among the days of the year.
Remove that day from the months of the year.
7 Do not let women become pregnant on that night.
Nobody should be happy!
8 People who know how to curse days should curse that day.
They should wake up Leviathan, the monster from the sea, to attack it.
9 The stars of early morning should be dark on that day.
Do not let the sun shine at dawn,
so that there is no end to the dark night.
10 I curse that day because it allowed me to be born.
It brought me into a life of trouble.

11 It would have been better if I had died at birth.
I should have been born dead.
12 Instead, my mother held me on her knees.
I drank from her breasts.
13 If I had died at birth, I would now be resting in peace.
14 I would be resting with kings and rulers.
They lived in beautiful houses which are now heaps of stones.
15 I would be with princes who once were very rich.
Their palaces were full of gold and silver.
16 My parents should have buried me,
like a child that is born dead.
I would never have seen the light of day.
17 After death, wicked people can no longer cause any trouble.
People who have become tired can rest.
18 Even prisoners can enjoy a time of peace.
No guards are there to shout at them.
19 Great people and ordinary people are all there together.
Slaves have no master that they must obey.

20 I am suffering very much.
Why does God let me wake up each day?
I am very upset,
so why does God continue to let me live?
21 People like me only want to die. But death does not come.
They would rather die than find valuable gold.
22 When their life finally finishes, they are very happy.
They are happy to go into their graves.
23 So why do I continue to live?
God has stopped me moving forward in life.
I cannot see which way to go.
24 I am crying instead of eating.
My tears pour out like a river of water.
25 The things that frighten me most have happened to me.
26 Because of all the trouble that has happened to me,
I cannot rest. I have no peace in my mind.’

Footnotes

  1. 3:1 Job does not understand why these bad things have happened to him. He thinks that God is not fair. He has so much trouble and pain that he wants to die.

Job Curses the Day He Was Born

3 Then Job opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born. 2 He said,

3 “I wish the day I was born would be lost forever.
I wish the night they said, ‘It’s a boy!’ had never happened.
4 I wish that day had remained dark.
I wish God above had forgotten that day
and not let any light shine on it.
5 I wish that bitter day had remained as dark as death,
covered with the darkest clouds.
6 I wish the darkness had carried away that night,
that it was left off the calendar
and not included in any of the months.
7 I wish that night had produced nothing
and no happy shouts had been heard.
8 Some magicians think they can wake Leviathan. [ a ]
So let them say their curses and curse the day I was born.
9 Let that day’s morning star be dark.
Let that night wait for a morning that never comes.
I wish it had never seen the first rays of sunlight.
10 I wish it had stopped me from being born
and kept me from seeing all these troubles.
11 Why didn’t I die when I was born?
Why didn’t I die as I came from my mother’s womb?
12 Why did my mother hold me on her knees?
Why did her breasts feed me?
13 If I had died when I was born,
I would be at peace now.
I wish I were asleep and at rest
14 with the kings and their advisors
who built palaces that are now in ruins.
15 I wish I were buried with rulers
who filled their graves with gold and silver.
16 Why wasn’t I a child who died at birth
and was put in the ground?
I wish I had been buried like a baby
who never saw the light of day.
17 There the wicked stop causing trouble,
and the weary find rest.
18 Even prisoners find relief there;
they no longer hear their guards shouting at them.
19 Everyone—from the greatest to the least important—will be there,
and even the slave is free from his master.

20 “Why must a suffering person continue to live?
Why let anyone live such a bitter life?
21 Such people want to die, but death does not come.
They search for death more than for hidden treasure.
22 They would be happy to find their grave.
They would rejoice to find their tomb.
23 But God keeps their future a secret
and builds a wall around them to protect them.
24 When it is time to eat, all I can do is sigh with sadness, not joy.
My groans pour out like water.
25 I was afraid something terrible would happen,
and what I feared most has happened.
26 I cannot calm down or relax.
I am too upset to rest!”

Footnotes

  1. Job 3:8 Leviathan Here, this is probably a giant sea monster. Some people thought magicians were able to make it “swallow the sun,” that is, cause an eclipse.

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

2 And Job spake, and said,

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

4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

5 Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.

6 As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.

7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.

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

9 Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:

10 Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

11 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?

12 Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?

13 For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, which build desolate places for themselves;

15 Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:

16 Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.

17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.

18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.

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

20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;

21 Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;

22 Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?

23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?

24 For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.

25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

Job’s Lament

3 Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed [ a ] the day of his birth . 2 And Job [ b ] said,

3 “ ( A ) May the day on which I was to be born perish,
As well as the night which said, ‘A [ c ] boy is conceived.’
4 May that day be darkness;
May God above not care for it,
Nor light shine on it.
5 May ( B ) darkness and black gloom claim it;
May a cloud settle on it;
May the blackness of the day terrify it.
6 As for that night, may darkness seize it;
May it not rejoice among the days of the year;
May it not come into the number of the months.
7 Behold, may that night be barren;
May no joyful shout enter it.
8 May those curse it who curse the day,
Who are [ d ] prepared to ( C ) disturb Leviathan.
9 May the stars of its twilight be darkened;
May it wait for light but have none,
And may it not see the [ e ] breaking dawn;
10 Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb,
Or hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “ ( D ) Why did I not die [ f ] at birth,
Come out of the womb and pass away?
12 Why were the knees there in front of me,
And why the breasts, that I would nurse?
13 For now I ( E ) would have lain down and been quiet;
I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,
14 With ( F ) kings and ( G ) counselors of the earth,
Who rebuilt ( H ) ruins for themselves;
15 Or with ( I ) rulers ( J ) who had gold,
Who were filling their houses with silver.
16 Or like a miscarriage which is [ g ] hidden, I would not exist,
As infants that never saw light.
17 There the wicked cease from raging,
And there the [ h ] weary are at ( K ) rest.
18 The prisoners are at ease together;
They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.
19 The small and the great are there,
And the slave is free from his master.

20 “Why is ( L ) light given to one burdened with grief,
And life to the bitter of soul,
21 Who [ i ] ( M ) long for death, but there is none,
And dig for it more than for ( N ) hidden treasures;
22 Who are filled with jubilation,
And rejoice when they find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man ( O ) whose way is hidden,
And whom ( P ) God has shut off?
24 For ( Q ) my groaning comes at the sight of my food,
And ( R ) my cries pour out like water.
25 For [ j ] ( S ) what I fear comes upon me,
And what I dread [ k ] encounters me.
26 I ( T ) am not at ease, nor am I quiet,
And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 3:1 Lit his day
  2. Job 3:2 Lit answered and said
  3. Job 3:3 Lit man-child
  4. Job 3:8 Or skillful
  5. Job 3:9 Lit eyelids of dawn
  6. Job 3:11 Lit from the womb
  7. Job 3:16 I.e., buried
  8. Job 3:17 Lit weary of strength
  9. Job 3:21 Lit wait
  10. Job 3:25 Lit I fear a fear, and it comes
  11. Job 3:25 Lit comes to me

Job Speaks

3 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. ( A ) 2 He said:

3 “May the day of my birth perish,
and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’ ( B )
4 That day—may it turn to darkness;
may God above not care about it;
may no light shine on it.
5 May gloom and utter darkness ( C ) claim it once more;
may a cloud settle over it;
may blackness overwhelm it.
6 That night—may thick darkness ( D ) seize it;
may it not be included among the days of the year
nor be entered in any of the months.
7 May that night be barren;
may no shout of joy ( E ) be heard in it.
8 May those who curse days [ a ] curse that day, ( F )
those who are ready to rouse Leviathan. ( G )
9 May its morning stars become dark;
may it wait for daylight in vain
and not see the first rays of dawn, ( H )
10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
to hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as I came from the womb? ( I )
12 Why were there knees to receive me ( J )
and breasts that I might be nursed?
13 For now I would be lying down ( K ) in peace;
I would be asleep and at rest ( L )
14 with kings and rulers of the earth, ( M )
who built for themselves places now lying in ruins, ( N )
15 with princes ( O ) who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver. ( P )
16 Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child, ( Q )
like an infant who never saw the light of day? ( R )
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil, ( S )
and there the weary are at rest. ( T )
18 Captives ( U ) also enjoy their ease;
they no longer hear the slave driver’s ( V ) shout. ( W )
19 The small and the great are there, ( X )
and the slaves are freed from their owners.

20 “Why is light given to those in misery,
and life to the bitter of soul, ( Y )
21 to those who long for death that does not come, ( Z )
who search for it more than for hidden treasure, ( AA )
22 who are filled with gladness
and rejoice when they reach the grave? ( AB )
23 Why is life given to a man
whose way is hidden, ( AC )
whom God has hedged in? ( AD )
24 For sighing ( AE ) has become my daily food; ( AF )
my groans ( AG ) pour out like water. ( AH )
25 What I feared has come upon me;
what I dreaded ( AI ) has happened to me. ( AJ )
26 I have no peace, ( AK ) no quietness;
I have no rest, ( AL ) but only turmoil.” ( AM )

Footnotes

  1. Job 3:8 Or curse the sea
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