Job 3

1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

Finally, Job spoke, and he cursed the day that he was born.

2 And this is what he said:

He said,

3 “May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

“I wish that the day when I was born could be eradicated, and also the night when I was conceived.

4 If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above disregard it; may no light shine upon it.

I wish that the day when I was born would have been covered in darkness. I wish that God who is in heaven [MTY] would have forgotten about that day, and that the sun would not have shone on it.

5 May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it; may the blackness of the day overwhelm it.

I wish that thick/intense darkness would have filled that day, and that a black cloud would have come over it and blotted out all light and caused people to be terrified.

6 If only darkness had taken that night away! May it not appear among the days of the year; may it never be entered in any of the months.

I wish that the night when I was conceived would be erased from the calendar, with the result that it would never again appear as one night in any month, and that it would not be included in any calendar.

7 Behold, may that night be barren; may no joyful voice come into it.

I wish that no child would again be conceived on that night of the month [MET], and that no one would again be happy on that night.

8 May it be cursed by those who curse the day — those prepared to rouse Leviathan.

I want those people who (curse/put evil spells on) days—those who know how to arouse/awaken the great sea monster—to curse that day.

9 May its morning stars grow dark; may it wait in vain for daylight; may it not see the breaking of dawn.

I wish that the stars that shone early in the morning on that day [after I was conceived] will not shine again. I want those stars to have wished in vain for light to shine; and that they would not have shone on that day.

10 For that night did not shut the doors of the womb to hide the sorrow from my eyes.

[That was an evil day] because my mother was able to conceive; instead, I was born, and I have now experienced all these terrible things.

11 Why did I not perish at birth; why did I not die as I came from the womb?

“I wish that I had died [RHQ] when I was born— at the time I emerged from my mother’s womb.

12 Why were there knees to receive me, and breasts that I should be nursed?

I wish that my mother had not [RHQ] allowed me to live. I wish that she had not nursed me.

13 For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest

If I had died at the time when I was born, I would be asleep, resting peacefully [in the place where the dead people are].

14 with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves cities now in ruins,

I would be resting with kings whose [beautiful palaces] that they built are now in ruins (OR, who rebuilt [palaces] that had previously been destroyed), and I would be resting with their officials [who have also died].

15 or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.

I would be resting with princes who were wealthy, whose palaces were filled with gold and silver.

16 Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, like an infant who never sees daylight?

I wish that I had been buried like a child who died in its mother’s womb and never lived to see the light.

17 There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary find rest.

After wicked people die, they do not cause any more troubles; those who are very tired now will rest.

18 The captives enjoy their ease; they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.

Those who were in prison rest peacefully [after they die]; they no longer have slave-drivers who curse them.

19 Both small and great are there, and the slave is freed from his master.

Rich people and poor people are alike after they die, and those who were slaves are no longer controlled by their masters.

20 Why is light given to the miserable, and life to the bitter of soul,

(“Why does God allow those who are suffering greatly [like me] to continue to remain alive?/I do not understand why God allows those who are suffering greatly [like me] to continue to remain alive.) [RHQ] Why does he allow those who are very miserable/distressed to keep living [RHQ]?

21 who long for death that does not come, and search for it like hidden treasure,

They long/want to die, but they do not die. They desire to die more than people desire to find a hidden treasure.

22 who rejoice and greatly exult when they can find the grave?

When they finally die and are buried, they are very happy.

23 Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?

Those who do not know where they are [eventually] going when they die [RHQ], people whom God has forced [MET] to continue to live in misery, (it is not right that they continue to live./why do they continue to live?) [RHQ]

24 I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water.

I continually cry very much; as a result, I cannot eat; and I can never stop groaning.

25 For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has befallen me.

Things that I always worried might happen to me, have happened to me; things that I always dreaded have happened to me.

26 I am not at ease or quiet; I have no rest, for trouble has come.”

Now I have no peace [in my inner being], I have no peace; I cannot rest; instead, I have only troubles.”