3 ^(A) Finally, Job cursed the day
of his birth
²     by saying to God:
³ Blot out the day of my birth
and the night when my parents
    created a son.
⁴ Forget about that day,
    cover it with darkness,
⁵ and send thick, gloomy shadows
    to fill it with dread.
⁶ Erase that night from the calendar
    and conceal it with darkness.
⁷ Don't let children be created
or joyful shouts be heard
    ever again in that night.
⁸ Let those with magic powers^[a]
    place a curse on that day.
⁹ Darken its morning stars
    and remove all hope of light,
¹⁰ because it let me be born
    into a world of trouble.

¹¹ Why didn't I die at birth?
¹² Why was I accepted^[b]
    and allowed to nurse
    at my mother's breast?
¹³ Now I would be at peace
    in the silent world below
¹⁴ with kings and their advisors
    whose palaces lie in ruins,
¹⁵ and with rulers once rich
    with silver and gold.
¹⁶ I wish I had been born dead
and then buried, never to see
    the light of day.
¹⁷ In the world of the dead,
the wicked and the weary rest
    without a worry.
* ¹⁸ Everyone is there—
¹⁹ where captives and slaves
    are free at last.

²⁰ Why does God let me live
when life is miserable
    and so bitter?
^21 (B) I keep longing for death
more than I would seek
    a valuable treasure.
²² Nothing could make me happier
    than to be in the grave.
²³ Why do I go on living
when God has me surrounded,
    and I can't see the road?
²⁴ Moaning and groaning
    are my food and drink,
²⁵ and my worst fears
    have all come true.
²⁶ I have no peace or rest—
    only troubles and worries.

4 Eliphaz from Teman^[c] said:
² Please be patient and listen
    to what I have to say.
* ³ Remember how your words
⁴ have guided and encouraged
    many in need.
⁵ But now you feel discouraged
    when struck by trouble.
⁶ You respect God and live right,
    so don't lose hope!
⁷ No truly innocent person
    has ever died young.
⁸ In my experience, only those
who plant seeds of evil
    harvest trouble,
⁹ and then they are swept away
    by the angry breath of God.
¹⁰ They may roar and growl
    like powerful lions.
But when God breaks their teeth,
¹¹ they starve, and their children
    are scattered.

¹² A secret was told to me
    in a faint whisper—
^13 (C) I was overcome by sleep,
    but disturbed by dreams;
¹⁴ I trembled with fear,
¹⁵ and my hair stood on end,
    as a wind blew past my face.
¹⁶ It stopped and stood still.
Then a form appeared—
    a shapeless form.
And from the silence,
    I heard a voice say,
¹⁷ “No humans are innocent
in the eyes of God
    their Creator.
¹⁸ He finds fault with his servants
    and even with his angels.
¹⁹ Humans are formed from clay
and are fragile as moths,
    so what chance do you have?
²⁰ Born after daybreak,
you die before nightfall
    and disappear forever.
²¹ Your tent pegs are pulled up,
and you leave this life,
    having gained no wisdom.”

^49 (E) “Heaven is my throne,
and the earth
    is my footstool.
What kind of house
    will you build for me?
In what place will I rest?
⁵⁰     I have made everything.”