Job 3:9-5

New International Version

⁹ May its morning stars become dark;
    may it wait for daylight in vain
    and not see the first rays of dawn,^(A)
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?^(B)
12 Why were there knees to receive me^(C)
    and breasts that I might be nursed?
¹³ For now I would be lying down^(D) in peace;
    I would be asleep and at rest^(E)
14 with kings and rulers of the earth,^(F)
    who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,^(G)
15 with princes^(H) who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.^(I)
16 Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,^(J)
    like an infant who never saw the light of day?^(K)
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,^(L)
    and there the weary are at rest.^(M)
18 Captives^(N) also enjoy their ease;
    they no longer hear the slave driver’s^(O) shout.^(P)
19 The small and the great are there,^(Q)
    and the slaves are freed from their owners.

²⁰ “Why is light given to those in misery,
    and life to the bitter of soul,^(R)
21 to those who long for death that does not come,^(S)
    who search for it more than for hidden treasure,^(T)
22 who are filled with gladness
    and rejoice when they reach the grave?^(U)
23 Why is life given to a man
    whose way is hidden,^(V)
    whom God has hedged in?^(W)
24 For sighing^(X) has become my daily food;^(Y)
    my groans^(Z) pour out like water.^(AA)
25 What I feared has come upon me;
    what I dreaded^(AB) has happened to me.^(AC)
26 I have no peace,^(AD) no quietness;
    I have no rest,^(AE) but only turmoil.”^(AF)

² “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    But who can keep from speaking?^(AH)
3 Think how you have instructed many,^(AI)
    how you have strengthened feeble hands.^(AJ)
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;^(AK)
    you have strengthened faltering knees.^(AL)
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;^(AM)
    it strikes^(AN) you, and you are dismayed.^(AO)
6 Should not your piety be your confidence^(AP)
    and your blameless^(AQ) ways your hope?

⁷ “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?^(AR)
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?^(AS)
8 As I have observed,^(AT) those who plow evil^(AU)
    and those who sow trouble reap it.^(AV)
9 At the breath of God^(AW) they perish;
    at the blast of his anger they are no more.^(AX)
10 The lions may roar^(AY) and growl,
    yet the teeth of the great lions^(AZ) are broken.^(BA)
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,^(BB)
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.^(BC)

¹² “A word^(BD) was secretly brought to me,
    my ears caught a whisper^(BE) of it.^(BF)
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people,^(BG)
14 fear and trembling^(BH) seized me
    and made all my bones shake.^(BI)
15 A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my body stood on end.^(BJ)
16 It stopped,
    but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice:^(BK)
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?^(BL)
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?^(BM)
18 If God places no trust in his servants,^(BN)
    if he charges his angels with error,^(BO)
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,^(BP)
    whose foundations^(BQ) are in the dust,^(BR)
    who are crushed^(BS) more readily than a moth!^(BT)
20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
    unnoticed, they perish forever.^(BU)
21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,^(BV)
    so that they die^(BW) without wisdom?’^(BX)

⁸ “But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
    I would lay my cause before him.^(CN)
9 He performs wonders^(CO) that cannot be fathomed,^(CP)
    miracles that cannot be counted.^(CQ)