Job 3
1 Darnach tat Hiob seinen Mund auf und verfluchte den Tag seiner Geburt.
Finally, Job spoke, and he cursed the day that he was born.
2 Hiob hob an und sprach:
He said,
3 Verloren gehe der Tag, da ich geboren bin, die Nacht, da es hieß: Ein Knabe ist gezeugt!
“I wish that the day when I was born could be eradicated, and also the night when I was conceived.
4 Verfinstert werde dieser Tag; Gott in der Höhe frage nicht nach ihm, und niemals falle ein Lichtstrahl darauf!
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 Finsternis und Todesschatten nehme ihn ein, Gewölk umhülle ihn und überfalle diesen trüben Tag!
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 Und jene Nacht; Das Dunkel raffe sie weg, sie freue sich in des Jahres Tagen nie und komme nicht in die Zahl der Monde.
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 Ja, jene Nacht sei unfruchtbar, kein Jubel ertöne in ihr!
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 Die, so den Tagen Böses losen und imstande sind, den Drachen aufzuwecken, sollen sie verfluchen.
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 Verfinstert müssen ihrer Dämmerung Sterne sein, sie warte auf Licht und es bleibe aus; sie schaue auch die Wimpern der Morgenröte nicht!
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 Weil sie den Mutterleib mir nicht verschloß und den Jammer nicht vor meinen Augen verbarg.
[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 Warum starb ich nicht gleich bei der Geburt und kam nicht um, sobald ich aus Mutterschoße ging?
“I wish that I had died [RHQ] when I was born— at the time I emerged from my mother’s womb.
12 Warum kamen mir Knie entgegen und wozu Brüste, daß ich sog?
I wish that my mother had not [RHQ] allowed me to live. I wish that she had not nursed me.
13 Denn jetzt läge ich da und wäre stille; wäre ich entschlafen, so hätte ich nun Ruhe
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 mit Königen und Landesräten, die sich Steinhaufen erbaut haben,
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 oder mit Fürsten, reich an Gold, die in ihren Häusern Silber häuften.
I would be resting with princes who were wealthy, whose palaces were filled with gold and silver.
16 Oder wäre ich gar niemals dagewesen, wie eine verborgene Fehlgeburt, den Kindlein gleich, die nie das Licht gesehen haben!
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 Dort hört der Frevler Toben auf, dort finden die Erschöpften Ruh;
After wicked people die, they do not cause any more troubles; those who are very tired now will rest.
18 alle Gefangenen sind dort in Frieden, sie hören die Stimme des Treibers nicht mehr;
Those who were in prison rest peacefully [after they die]; they no longer have slave-drivers who curse them.
19 Kleine und Große sind daselbst, und der Knecht ist frei von seinem Herrn!
Rich people and poor people are alike after they die, and those who were slaves are no longer controlled by their masters.
20 Warum läßt er Lebensmüde noch die Sonne sehen und zwingt er betrübte Seelen noch zu leben?
(“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 die auf den Tod harren, und er kommt nicht, die nach ihm graben, mehr als nach Schätzen;
They long/want to die, but they do not die. They desire to die more than people desire to find a hidden treasure.
22 die sich freuen würden und jubelten, die frohlockten, wenn sie ein Grab fänden.
When they finally die and are buried, they are very happy.
23 [Was soll das Leben] dem Manne, dem sein Weg verborgen ist, den Gott rings umzäunt hat?
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 Denn statt zu essen, seufze ich, und meine Klage ergießt sich wie ein Wasserstrom.
I continually cry very much; as a result, I cannot eat; and I can never stop groaning.
25 Denn was ich gefürchtet habe, das ist über mich gekommen, und wovor mir graute, das hat mich getroffen.
Things that I always worried might happen to me, have happened to me; things that I always dreaded have happened to me.
26 Ich kann nicht ruhen und nicht rasten, und kaum habe ich mich erholt, so kommt ein neuer Sturm über mich.
Now I have no peace [in my inner being], I have no peace; I cannot rest; instead, I have only troubles.”
