³ “May^(A) the day perish on which I was born,
And the night in which it was said,
‘A male child is conceived.’
⁴ May that day be darkness;
May God above not seek it,
Nor the light shine upon it.
⁵ May darkness and ^(B)the shadow of death 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 ^[b]rejoice among the days of the year,
May it not come into the number of the months.
⁷ Oh, may that night be barren!
May no joyful shout come into it!
⁸ May those curse it who curse the day,
Those ^(C)who are ready to arouse Leviathan.
⁹ May the stars of its morning be dark;
May it look for light, but have none,
And not see the ^[c]dawning of the day;
¹⁰ Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb,
Nor hide sorrow from my eyes.

¹¹ “Why^(D) did I not die at birth?
Why did I not ^[d]perish when I came from the womb?
^12 (E)Why did the knees receive me?
Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?
¹³ For now I would have lain still and been quiet,
I would have been asleep;
Then I would have been at rest
¹⁴ With kings and counselors of the earth,
Who ^(F)built ruins for themselves,
¹⁵ Or with princes who had gold,
Who filled their houses with silver;
¹⁶ Or why was I not hidden ^(G)like a stillborn child,
Like infants who never saw light?
¹⁷ There the wicked cease from troubling,
And there the ^[e]weary are at ^(H)rest.
¹⁸ There the prisoners ^[f]rest together;
^(I)They do not hear the voice of the oppressor.
¹⁹ The small and great are there,
And the servant is free from his master.

²⁰ “Why^(J) is light given to him who is in misery,
And life to the ^(K)bitter of soul,
²¹ Who ^(L)long^[g] for death, but it does not come,
And search for it more than ^(M)hidden treasures;
²² Who rejoice exceedingly,
And are glad when they can find the ^(N)grave?
²³ Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
^(O)And whom God has hedged in?
²⁴ For my sighing comes before ^[h]I eat,
And my groanings pour out like water.
²⁵ For the thing I greatly ^(P)feared has come upon me,
And what I dreaded has happened to me.
²⁶ I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
I have no rest, for trouble comes.”

² “If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary?
But who can withhold himself from speaking?
³ Surely you have instructed many,
And you ^(A)have strengthened weak hands.
⁴ Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
And you ^(B)have strengthened the ^[a]feeble knees;
⁵ But now it comes upon you, and you are weary;
It touches you, and you are troubled.
⁶ Is not ^(C)your reverence ^(D)your confidence?
And the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷ “Remember now, ^(E)who ever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright ever cut off?
⁸ Even as I have seen,
^(F)Those who plow iniquity
And sow trouble reap the same.
⁹ By the blast of God they perish,
And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.
¹⁰ The roaring of the lion,
The voice of the fierce lion,
And ^(G)the teeth of the young lions are broken.
^11 (H)The old lion perishes for lack of prey,
And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹² “Now a word was secretly brought to me,
And my ear received a whisper of it.
^13 (I)In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,
When deep sleep falls on men,
¹⁴ Fear came upon me, and ^(J)trembling,
Which made all my bones shake.
¹⁵ Then a spirit passed before my face;
The hair on my body stood up.
¹⁶ It stood still,
But I could not discern its appearance.
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence;
Then I heard a voice saying:
¹⁷ ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
¹⁸ If He ^(K)puts no trust in His servants,
If He charges His angels with error,
¹⁹ How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,
Whose foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed before a moth?
^20 (L)They are broken in pieces from morning till evening;
They perish forever, with no one regarding.
²¹ Does not their own excellence go away?
They die, even without wisdom.’