Job 3 — The Holy Bible

Job Curses His Day of Birth

Job 3, verse 1. After this, Job opened his mouth Job 3, verse 2. and cursed his day, saying:

“May the day perish on which I was born,

And the night in which they said, ‘Behold, a male child.’

May that day be darkness,

And may the Lord not regard it from above;

Nor may the light come upon it.

May darkness and the shadow of death seize it;

May a cloud settle on it.

May that day and night be cursed;

May darkness carry it away;

May it not come into the days of the year;

May it not be numbered with the days of the month.

But may that night be sorrow,

And may no gladness come upon it, nor joy.

But may he who curses that day curse it,

Even he who is about to subdue the great sea-monster.

May the stars of that night be darkened,

And may it remain dark.

May it not come into the light,

And may it not see the morning star arise;

Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother's womb,

For it would have removed sorrow from my eyes.

Why did I not die in the womb?

Why did I not perish immediately when I came from the womb?

Why did the knees receive me,

And why did I nurse the breasts?

For now I would have been lying down and quiet;

I would have slept and been at rest

With kings and counselors of the earth

Who were insolent with their swords,

Or with rulers who had abundant gold

And filled their houses with silver;

Or I would have been like an untimely birth

Proceeding from his mother's womb,

Or like infants who never saw the light.

There the ungodly have burnt out the fury of wrath;

There the weary in body are at rest.

There men of ancient times have ceased together

To hear the voice of those who collect taxes.

The small and great are there,

And the servant who feared his master.

Why is light given to those in bitterness,

And life to souls in pain,

Who long for death, but do not obtain it,

Digging for it like treasures,

And would be very joyful if they could obtain it?

Death is a rest to such a man,

For God is against him.

For groaning comes before my food;

And I weep and am oppressed with terror.

For the terror I was concerned about came to me,

And what I feared happened to me;

Neither was I at peace or quiet, nor at rest,

For wrath came upon me.”