איוב 3

1 אחרי כן פתח איוב את פיהו ויקלל את יומו׃

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

2 ויען איוב ויאמר׃

He said,

3 יאבד יום אולד בו והלילה אמר הרה גבר׃

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

4 היום ההוא יהי חשך אל ידרשהו אלוה ממעל ואל תופע עליו נהרה׃

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 יגאלהו חשך וצלמות תשכן עליו עננה יבעתהו כמרירי יום׃

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 הלילה ההוא יקחהו אפל אל יחד בימי שנה במספר ירחים אל יבא׃

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 הנה הלילה ההוא יהי גלמוד אל תבא רננה בו׃

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 יקבהו אררי יום העתידים ערר לויתן׃

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 יחשכו כוכבי נשפו יקו לאור ואין ואל יראה בעפעפי שחר׃

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 כי לא סגר דלתי בטני ויסתר עמל מעיני׃

[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 למה לא מרחם אמות מבטן יצאתי ואגוע׃

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

12 מדוע קדמוני ברכים ומה שדים כי אינק׃

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

13 כי עתה שכבתי ואשקוט ישנתי אז ינוח לי׃

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 עם מלכים ויעצי ארץ הבנים חרבות למו׃

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 או עם שרים זהב להם הממלאים בתיהם כסף׃

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

16 או כנפל טמון לא אהיה כעללים לא ראו אור׃

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 שם רשעים חדלו רגז ושם ינוחו יגיעי כח׃

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

18 יחד אסירים שאננו לא שמעו קול נגש׃

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

19 קטן וגדול שם הוא ועבד חפשי מאדניו׃

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

20 למה יתן לעמל אור וחיים למרי נפש׃

(“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 המחכים למות ואיננו ויחפרהו ממטמונים׃

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

22 השמחים אלי גיל ישישו כי ימצאו קבר׃

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

23 לגבר אשר דרכו נסתרה ויסך אלוה בעדו׃

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 כי לפני לחמי אנחתי תבא ויתכו כמים שאגתי׃

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

25 כי פחד פחדתי ויאתיני ואשר יגרתי יבא לי׃

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

26 לא שלותי ולא שקטתי ולא נחתי ויבא רגז׃

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