³ “Let the day of my birth be erased,
    and the night I was conceived.
⁴ Let that day be turned to darkness.
    Let it be lost even to God on high,
    and let no light shine on it.
⁵ Let the darkness and utter gloom claim that day for its own.
    Let a black cloud overshadow it,
    and let the darkness terrify it.
⁶ Let that night be blotted off the calendar,
    never again to be counted among the days of the year,
    never again to appear among the months.
⁷ Let that night be childless.
    Let it have no joy.
⁸ Let those who are experts at cursing—
    whose cursing could rouse Leviathan^[a]—
    curse that day.
⁹ Let its morning stars remain dark.
    Let it hope for light, but in vain;
    may it never see the morning light.
¹⁰ Curse that day for failing to shut my mother’s womb,
    for letting me be born to see all this trouble.

¹¹ “Why wasn’t I born dead?
    Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?
¹² Why was I laid on my mother’s lap?
    Why did she nurse me at her breasts?
¹³ Had I died at birth, I would now be at peace.
    I would be asleep and at rest.
¹⁴ I would rest with the world’s kings and prime ministers,
    whose great buildings now lie in ruins.
¹⁵ I would rest with princes, rich in gold,
    whose palaces were filled with silver.
¹⁶ Why wasn’t I buried like a stillborn child,
    like a baby who never lives to see the light?
¹⁷ For in death the wicked cause no trouble,
    and the weary are at rest.
¹⁸ Even captives are at ease in death,
    with no guards to curse them.
¹⁹ Rich and poor are both there,
    and the slave is free from his master.

¹¹ “I cannot keep from speaking.
    I must express my anguish.
    My bitter soul must complain.

¹² If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him?
    Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’
¹³ And God does not restrain his anger.
    Even the monsters of the sea^[a] are crushed beneath his feet.

¹⁴ “So who am I, that I should try to answer God
    or even reason with him?
¹⁵ Even if I were right, I would have no defense.
    I could only plead for mercy.
¹⁶ And even if I summoned him and he responded,
    I’m not sure he would listen to me.
¹⁷ For he attacks me with a storm
    and repeatedly wounds me without cause.
¹⁸ He will not let me catch my breath,
    but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.

² “My complaint today is still a bitter one,
    and I try hard not to groan aloud.