And I (A)thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive.

Read full chapter

17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for (A)all is vanity and a striving after wind.

Read full chapter

11 “Why (A)did I not die at birth,
    come out from the womb and expire?
12 Why did (B)the knees receive me?
    Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?
13 For then I would have lain down and been quiet;
    I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,
14 with kings and counselors of the earth
    who (C)rebuilt ruins for themselves,
15 or with princes who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not as a hidden (D)stillborn child,
    as infants who never see the light?
17 There the wicked cease from troubling,
    and there the weary are at (E)rest.
18 There the prisoners are at ease together;
    they hear not the voice of (F)the taskmaster.
19 The small and the great are there,
    and the slave is free from his master.

20 “Why is light given to him who is in misery,
    and life to (G)the bitter in soul,
21 who (H)long for death, but it comes not,
    and dig for it more than for (I)hidden treasures,
22 who rejoice exceedingly
    and are glad when they find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose (J)way is hidden,
    whom God has (K)hedged in?
24 For my sighing comes (L)instead of[a] my bread,
    and my (M)groanings are poured out like water.
25 (N)For the thing that I fear comes upon me,
    and what I dread befalls me.
26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
    I have no rest, but trouble comes.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Job 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before

But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but (A)the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for (B)the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.

Read full chapter

Bible Gateway Recommends

ESV Super Giant Print Bible (TruTone Imitation Leather, Burgundy)
ESV Super Giant Print Bible (TruTone Imitation Leather, Burgundy)
Retail: $69.99
Our Price: $35.89
Save: $34.10 (49%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV My Creative Bible--imitation leather, teal
ESV My Creative Bible--imitation leather, teal
Retail: $44.99
Our Price: $25.84
Save: $19.15 (43%)
ESV Study Bible, Burgundy Genuine Leather with Thumb Index
ESV Study Bible, Burgundy Genuine Leather with Thumb Index
Retail: $124.99
Our Price: $62.95
Save: $62.04 (50%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
ESV Spiral-Bound Journaling Bible, Hardcover, Five-Volume Set
ESV Spiral-Bound Journaling Bible, Hardcover, Five-Volume Set
Retail: $149.99
Our Price: $98.99
Save: $51.00 (34%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
Psalms, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
Psalms, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
Retail: $15.99
Our Price: $6.86
Save: $9.13 (57%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars