³ “May the day of my birth perish,
    and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’^(B)

¹⁶ Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,^(A)
    like an infant who never saw the light of day?^(B)

²⁰ “Why is light given to those in misery,
    and life to the bitter of soul,^(A)
21 to those who long for death that does not come,^(B)
    who search for it more than for hidden treasure,^(C)
22 who are filled with gladness
    and rejoice when they reach the grave?^(D)
23 Why is life given to a man
    whose way is hidden,^(E)
    whom God has hedged in?^(F)
24 For sighing^(G) has become my daily food;^(H)
    my groans^(I) pour out like water.^(J)
25 What I feared has come upon me;
    what I dreaded^(K) has happened to me.^(L)
26 I have no peace,^(M) no quietness;
    I have no rest,^(N) but only turmoil.”^(O)

¹⁹ If only I had never come into being,
    or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!^(A)
20 Are not my few days^(B) almost over?^(C)
    Turn away from me^(D) so I can have a moment’s joy^(E)