Job 3
King James Version
3 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
2 And Job spake, and said,
3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.
4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.
5 Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6 As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.
7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.
8 Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
9 Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:
10 Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.
11 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?
12 Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?
13 For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,
14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, which build desolate places for themselves;
15 Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:
16 Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.
17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.
18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.
19 The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.
20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;
21 Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;
22 Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?
24 For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.
25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.
26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.
Job 3
Amplified Bible
Job’s Lament
3 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 [a]And Job said,
3
“Let the day on which I was born perish,
And the night which announced: ‘There is a man-child conceived.’
4
“May that day be darkness;
Let God above not care about it,
Nor light shine on it.
5
“Let darkness and gloom claim it for their own;
Let a cloud settle upon it;
Let all that blackens the day terrify it (the day that I was born).
6
“As for that night, let darkness seize it;
Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
Let it not be counted in the number of the months.
7
“Behold, let that night be barren [and empty];
Let no joyful voice enter it.
8
“Let those curse it [b]who curse the day,
Who are skilled in rousing up Leviathan.
9
“Let the stars of its early dawn be dark;
Let the morning wait in vain for the light,
Let it not see the eyelids of morning (the day’s dawning),
10
Because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,
Nor hide trouble from my eyes.
11
“Why did I not die at birth,
Come forth from the womb and expire?
12
“Why did the knees receive me?
And why the breasts, that I would nurse?
13
“For now I would have lain down and been quiet;
I would have slept then, I would have been at rest [in death],
14
With kings and counselors of the earth,
Who built up [now desolate] ruins for themselves;
15
Or with princes who had gold,
Who filled their houses with silver.
16
“Or like a miscarriage which is hidden and put away, I would not exist,
Like infants who never saw light.
17
“There [in death] the wicked cease from raging,
And there the weary are at rest.
18
“There the prisoners rest together;
They do not hear the taskmaster’s voice.
19
“The small and the great are there,
And the servant is free from his master.(A)
20
“Why is the light given to him who is in misery,
And life to the bitter in soul,
21
Who wait for death, but it does not come,
And dig (search) for death more [diligently] than for hidden treasures,
22
Who rejoice exceedingly,
And rejoice when they find the grave?
23
“Why is the light of day given to a man whose way is hidden,
And whom God has hedged in?
24
“For my groaning comes at the sight of my food,
And my cries [of despair] are poured out like water.
25
“For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me,
And that of which I am afraid has come upon me.
26
“I am not at ease, nor am I quiet,
And I am not at rest, and yet trouble still comes [upon me].”
Footnotes
- Job 3:2 The prose introduction ends at v 1 and the poetic heart of the book begins with v 2. One of the features of Hebrew poetry is the prevalence of pairs of statements in which the second statement either is parallel in thought to the first or contrasts with it. There is no rhyming or metrical correspondence.
- Job 3:8 Some ancient sorcerers claimed the ability to curse a day by calling up a terrifying, legendary creature, such as Leviathan, to devour the sun.
Job 3
Tree of Life Version
Job Curses His Own Birth
3 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. 2 Then Job answered and said:
3 “May the day I was born perish,
and the night that said,
‘A man is conceived!’
4 That day—may it be darkness;
may God above not regard it;
may no light shine on it.
5 May darkness and deep gloom reclaim it;
may a cloud settle over it;
may whatever blackens the day terrify it.
6 That night—may thick darkness seize it;
may it not be included among the days of the year,
nor be entered among the number of months.
7 Indeed, may that night be barren;
may no joyful shout enter it.
8 May those who curse, curse the day—
those ready to awaken Leviathan.
9 May its morning stars be darkened;
may it hope for light but have none—
may it never see the eyelids of dawn.
10 For it did not shut the doors of the womb on me,
nor did it hide trouble from my eyes.
11 Why did I not die at birth
and expire as I exited the womb?
12 Why did the knees welcome me,
and breasts that I might nurse?
13 For now I would be lying down and quiet;
I would be asleep and at rest
14 with kings and counselors of the earth,
who built for themselves places now desolate,
15 with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn,
like infants who never saw light?
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,
and there the weary are at rest.
18 Prisoners are at ease together;
they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.
19 Small and great are there;
and slave is free from his master.
20 Why is light given to one who suffers
and life to the bitter of soul,
21 to those who long for death, but it does not come,
who dig for it more than for hidden treasures,
22 who are filled with gladness
and rejoice when finding the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
and whom God has hedged in?
24 For my sighing comes instead of my bread,
and my groans pour out like water.
25 For the thing I dreaded has come upon me,
and what I feared has happened to me.
26 I have no ease, no quietness;
I have no rest, but turmoil came.”
Job 3
New Living Translation
Job’s First Speech
3 At last Job spoke, and he cursed the day of his birth. 2 He said:
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.
20 “Oh, why give light to those in misery,
and life to those who are bitter?
21 They long for death, and it won’t come.
They search for death more eagerly than for hidden treasure.
22 They’re filled with joy when they finally die,
and rejoice when they find the grave.
23 Why is life given to those with no future,
those God has surrounded with difficulties?
24 I cannot eat for sighing;
my groans pour out like water.
25 What I always feared has happened to me.
What I dreaded has come true.
26 I have no peace, no quietness.
I have no rest; only trouble comes.”
Footnotes
- 3:8 The identification of Leviathan is disputed, ranging from an earthly creature to a mythical sea monster in ancient literature.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
