Job 3
English Standard Version
Job Laments His Birth
3 After this Job (A)opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said:
3 (B)“Let the day perish on which I was born,
and the night that said,
‘A man is conceived.’
4 Let that day be darkness!
May God above not seek it,
nor light shine upon it.
5 Let gloom and (C)deep darkness claim it.
Let clouds dwell upon it;
let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6 That night—let thick 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 cry enter it.
8 Let those curse it who curse the day,
who are ready to rouse up (D)Leviathan.
9 Let the stars of its dawn be dark;
let it hope for light, but have none,
nor see (E)the eyelids of the morning,
10 because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,
nor hide trouble from my eyes.
11 “Why (F)did I not die at birth,
come out from the womb and expire?
12 Why did (G)the knees receive me?
Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?
13 For then I would have lain down and been quiet;
I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,
14 with kings and counselors of the earth
who (H)rebuilt ruins for themselves,
15 or with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not as a hidden (I)stillborn child,
as infants who never see the light?
17 There the wicked cease from troubling,
and there the weary are at (J)rest.
18 There the prisoners are at ease together;
they hear not the voice of (K)the taskmaster.
19 The small and the great are there,
and the slave is free from his master.
20 “Why is light given to him who is in misery,
and life to (L)the bitter in soul,
21 who (M)long for death, but it comes not,
and dig for it more than for (N)hidden treasures,
22 who rejoice exceedingly
and are glad when they find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose (O)way is hidden,
whom God has (P)hedged in?
24 For my sighing comes (Q)instead of[a] my bread,
and my (R)groanings are poured out like water.
25 (S)For the thing that I fear comes upon me,
and what I dread befalls me.
26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
I have no rest, but trouble comes.”
Footnotes
- Job 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before
Job 3
Common English Bible
Job responds differently
3 Afterward, Job spoke up and cursed the day he was born.
2 Job said:
3 Perish the day I was born,
the night someone said,
“A boy has been conceived.”
4 That day—let it be darkness;
may God above ignore it,
and light not shine on it.
5 May deepest darkness claim it
and a cloud linger over it;
may all that darkens the day terrify it.
6 May gloom seize that night;
may it not be counted in the days of a year;
may it not appear in the months.
7 May that night be childless;
may no happy singing come in it.
8 May those who curse the day curse it,
those with enough skill to awaken Leviathan.
9 May its evening stars stay dark;
may it wait in vain for light;
may it not see dawn’s gleam,
10 because it didn’t close the doors of my mother’s womb,[a]
didn’t hide trouble from my eyes.
Job laments his misfortune
11 Why didn’t I die at birth,
come forth from the womb and die?
12 Why did knees receive me
and breasts let me nurse?
13 For now I would be lying down quietly;
I’d sleep; rest would be mine
14 with kings and earth’s advisors,
who rebuild ruins for themselves,
15 or with princes who have gold,
who fill their houses with silver.
16 Or why wasn’t I like a buried miscarried infant,
like babies who never see light?
17 There the wicked rage no more;
there the weak rest.
18 Prisoners are entirely at ease;
they don’t hear a boss’s voice.
19 Both small and great are there;
a servant is free from his masters.
20 Why is light given to the hard worker,
life to those bitter of soul,
21 those waiting in vain for death,
who search for it more than for treasure,
22 who rejoice excitedly,
who are thrilled when they find a grave?
23 Why is light given[b] to the person whose way is hidden,
whom God has fenced in?
24 My groans become my bread;
my roars pour out like water.
25 Because I was afraid of something awful,
and it arrived;
what I dreaded came to me.
26 I had no ease, quiet, or rest,
and trembling came.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible