Job 3

1 After this hath Job opened his mouth, and revileth his day.

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

2 And Job answereth and saith: —

He said,

3 Let the day perish in which I am born, And the night that hath said: 'A man-child hath been conceived.'

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

4 That day — let it be darkness, Let not God require it from above, Nor let 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 Let darkness and death-shade redeem it, Let a cloud tabernacle upon it, Let them terrify it as the most bitter of days.

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 That night — let thick darkness take it, Let it not be united to days of the year, Into the number of months let it not come.

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 Lo! that night — let it be gloomy, Let no singing 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 Let the cursers of day mark it, Who are ready to wake up 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 Let the stars of its twilight be dark, Let it wait for light, and there is none, And let it not look on the eyelids of the 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 Because it hath not shut the doors Of the womb that was mine! And hide misery from mine 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 from the womb do I not die? From the belly I have come forth and gasp!

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

12 Wherefore have knees been before me? And what [are] breasts, that I suck?

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

13 For now, I have lain down, and am quiet, I have slept — then there is rest to me,

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 counsellors of earth, These building wastes for themselves.

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 — they have gold, They are filling their houses [with] silver.

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

16 (Or as a hidden abortion I am not, As infants — they have not seen light.)

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 have ceased troubling, And there rest do the wearied in power.

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

18 Together prisoners have been at ease, They have not heard the voice of an exactor,

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

19 Small and great [are] there the same. And a servant [is] free from his lord.

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

20 Why giveth He to the miserable light, and life to the bitter 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 are waiting for death, and it is not, And they seek it above hid treasures.

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 are glad — unto joy, They rejoice when they find a grave.

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

23 To a man whose way hath been hidden, And whom God doth shut up?

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 For before my food, my sighing cometh, And poured out as waters [are] my roarings.

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

25 For a fear I feared and it meeteth me, And what I was afraid of doth come to 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 was not safe — nor was I quiet — Nor was I at rest — and trouble cometh!

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