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Job 3
New American Standard Bible 1995
Job 3
New American Standard Bible 1995
Job’s Lament
3 Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed [a]the day of his birth. 2 And Job [b]said,
3 “(A)Let the day perish on which I was to be born,
And the night which said, ‘A [c]boy is conceived.’
4 “May that day be darkness;
Let not God above care for it,
Nor light shine on it.
5 “Let (B)darkness and black gloom claim it;
Let a cloud settle on it;
Let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6 “As for that night, let darkness seize it;
Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
Let it not come into the number of the months.
7 “Behold, let that night be barren;
Let no joyful shout enter it.
8 “Let those curse it who curse the day,
Who are [d]prepared to (C)rouse Leviathan.
9 “Let the stars of its twilight be darkened;
Let it wait for light but have none,
And let 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 forth from the womb and expire?
12 “Why did the knees receive me,
And why the breasts, that I should suck?
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 with (G)counselors of the earth,
Who rebuilt (H)ruins for themselves;
15 Or with (I)princes (J)who had gold,
Who were filling their houses with silver.
16 “Or like a miscarriage which is [g]discarded, I would not be,
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 him who suffers,
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 rejoice greatly,
And exult when they find the grave?
23 “Why is light given to a man (O)whose way is hidden,
And whom (P)God has hedged in?
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 befalls me.
26 “I (T)am not at ease, nor am I quiet,
And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”
Job 3
New International Version
Job 3
New International Version
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
- Job 3:8 Or curse the sea
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.