³ “Let the day I was born be destroyed,
    and the night it was said, ‘A boy is ·born [^Lconceived]!’
⁴ Let that day turn to darkness [^Ccontrast Gen. 1:3].
    Don’t let God ·care about [^Lseek] it.
    Don’t let light shine on it.
⁵ Let darkness and gloom ·have that day [^Lredeem it].
    Let a cloud ·hide [^Lsettle over] it.
    Let thick darkness ·cover its light [overwhelm the day].
⁶ Let thick darkness capture that night.
    Don’t count it among the days of the year
    or put it in any of the months.
⁷ Let that night be ·empty [barren],
    with no shout of joy ·to be heard [^Lentering it].
⁸ Let those who curse ·days [or the Sea; ^Ca symbol of chaos] curse that day [^CBalaam (Num. 22–24) is an example of a professional curser].
    Let them prepare to wake up the sea monster Leviathan [^Ca creature in ancient Near Eastern texts that represents chaos; 41:1, 12; Ps. 74:14; 104:26; Is. 27:1].
⁹ Let that day’s morning stars ·never appear [^Lbecome dark];
    let it ·wait [hope] for daylight that never comes.
    Don’t let it see the first light of dawn,
¹⁰ because it ·allowed me to be born [^Ldid not shut the doors of my (mother’s) womb]
    and did not hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹ “Why didn’t I die as soon as I ·was born [^Lcame out of the womb]?
    Why didn’t I die when I came out of the ·womb [^Lbelly; Eccl. 6:3–5]?
¹² Why did my mother’s knees receive me,
    and ·my mother’s breasts feed me [^Lwhy were there breasts that I could suck]?
¹³ If they had not been there,
    I would be lying dead in peace;
    I would be asleep and at rest
¹⁴ with kings and wise men of the earth
    who built places for themselves that are now ruined.
¹⁵ I would be asleep with rulers
    who filled their houses with gold and silver.
¹⁶ Why was I not ·buried [^Lhidden] like a ·child born dead [stillborn],
    like a baby who never saw the light of day?
¹⁷ In the grave the wicked ·stop making trouble [or cease their agitation],
    and the weary workers are at rest.
¹⁸ In the grave there is rest for the ·captives [prisoners]
    who no longer hear the ·shout [^Lvoice] of the ·slave driver [taskmaster].
¹⁹ People great and small are ·in the grave [^Lthere],
    and the ·slave [servant] is freed from his master.

²⁰ “Why is light given to those in misery?
    Why is life given to those who are ·so unhappy [depressed]?
²¹ They want to die, but death does not come.
    They search for death more than for hidden treasure.
²² They are very happy
    [^Lthey celebrate] when they get to the grave.
²³ They cannot see where they are going.
    God has ·hidden the road ahead [^Lplaced a hedge around him].
²⁴ I ·make sad sounds [sigh] as I eat;
    my groans pour out like water.
²⁵ ·Everything I feared and dreaded
    has happened to me.
[or For the dread I dreaded has come to me,
    and what I feared has come to me.]
²⁶ I have no peace or quietness.
    I have no rest, only ·trouble [agitation].”