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Job Curses His Birth

·After seven days [L Afterward] Job ·cried out [L opened his mouth] and cursed ·the day he had been born [L his day; Jer. 20:14–18], saying:

“Let the day I was born be destroyed,
    and the night it was said, ‘A boy is ·born [L conceived]!’
Let that day turn to darkness [C contrast Gen. 1:3].
    Don’t let God ·care about [L seek] it.
    Don’t let light shine on it.
Let darkness and gloom ·have that day [L redeem it].
    Let a cloud ·hide [L settle over] it.
    Let thick darkness ·cover its light [overwhelm the day].
Let thick darkness capture that night.
    Don’t count it among the days of the year
    or put it in any of the months.
Let that night be ·empty [barren],
    with no shout of joy ·to be heard [L entering it].
Let those who curse ·days [or the Sea; C a symbol of chaos] curse that day [C Balaam (Num. 22–24) is an example of a professional curser].
    Let them prepare to wake up the sea monster Leviathan [C a creature in ancient Near Eastern texts that represents chaos; 41:1, 12; Ps. 74:14; 104:26; Is. 27:1].
Let that day’s morning stars ·never appear [L become dark];
    let it ·wait [hope] for daylight that never comes.
    Don’t let it see the first light of dawn,
10 because it ·allowed me to be born [L did not shut the doors of my (mother’s) womb]
    and did not hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “Why didn’t I die as soon as I ·was born [L came out of the womb]?
    Why didn’t I die when I came out of the ·womb [L belly; Eccl. 6:3–5]?
12 Why did my mother’s knees receive me,
    and ·my mother’s breasts feed me [L why were there breasts that I could suck]?
13 If they had not been there,
    I would be lying dead in peace;
    I would be asleep and at rest
14 with kings and wise men of the earth
    who built places for themselves that are now ruined.
15 I would be asleep with rulers
    who filled their houses with gold and silver.
16 Why was I not ·buried [L hidden] like a ·child born dead [stillborn],
    like a baby who never saw the light of day?
17 In the grave the wicked ·stop making trouble [or cease their agitation],
    and the weary workers are at rest.
18 In the grave there is rest for the ·captives [prisoners]
    who no longer hear the ·shout [L voice] of the ·slave driver [taskmaster].
19 People great and small are ·in the grave [L there],
    and the ·slave [servant] is freed from his master.

20 “Why is light given to those in misery?
    Why is life given to those who are ·so unhappy [depressed]?
21 They want to die, but death does not come.
    They search for death more than for hidden treasure.
22 They are very happy
    [L they celebrate] when they get to the grave.
23 They cannot see where they are going.
    God has ·hidden the road ahead [L placed a hedge around him].
24 I ·make sad sounds [sigh] as I eat;
    my groans pour out like water.
25 ·Everything I feared and dreaded
    has happened to me.
[or For the dread I dreaded has come to me,
    and what I feared has come to me.]
26 I have no peace or quietness.
    I have no rest, only ·trouble [agitation].”

Job Speaks

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

“May the day of my birth perish,
    and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’(B)
That day—may it turn to darkness;
    may God above not care about it;
    may no light shine on it.
May gloom and utter darkness(C) claim it once more;
    may a cloud settle over it;
    may blackness overwhelm it.
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.
May that night be barren;
    may no shout of joy(E) be heard in it.
May those who curse days[a] curse that day,(F)
    those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.(G)
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