Online Bible

Job’s Lament

Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed ¹the day of his birth. 2 And Job ¹said,

3 “^aMay the day on which I was to be born perish,As well as the night which said, ‘A ¹boy is conceived.’4 “May that day be darkness;May God above not care for it,Nor light shine on it.5 “May ^adarkness and black gloom claim it;May a cloud settle on it;May the blackness of the day terrify it.6 “As for that night, may darkness seize it;May it not rejoice among the days of the year;May it not come into the number of the months.7 “Behold, may that night be barren;May no joyful shout enter it.8 “May those curse it who curse the day,Who are ¹prepared to ^adisturb Leviathan.9 “May the stars of its twilight be darkened;May it wait for light but have none,And may it not see the ¹breaking dawn;10 Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb,Or hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “^aWhy did I not die ¹at birth,Come out of the womb and pass away?12 “Why were the knees there in front of me,And why the breasts, that I would nurse?13 “For now I ^awould have lain down and been quiet;I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,14 With ^akings and ^bcounselors of the earth,Who rebuilt ^cruins for themselves;15 Or with ^arulers ^bwho had gold,Who were filling their houses with silver.16 “Or like a miscarriage which is ¹hidden, I would not exist,As infants that never saw light.17 “There the wicked cease from raging,And there the ¹weary are at ^arest.18 “The prisoners are at ease together;They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.19 “The small and the great are there,And the slave is free from his master.

20 “Why is ^alight given to one burdened with grief,And life to the bitter of soul,21 Who ¹^along for death, but there is none,And dig for it more than for ^bhidden treasures;22 Who are filled with jubilation,And rejoice when they find the grave?23 “Why is light given to a man ^awhose way is hidden,And whom ^bGod has shut off?24 “For ^amy groaning comes at the sight of my food,And ^bmy cries pour out like water.25 “For ¹^awhat I fear comes upon me,And what I dread ²encounters me.26 “I ^aam not at ease, nor am I quiet,And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

Job’s Lament

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 ¹And Job said,

3 “^aLet the day on which I was born perish,And the night which announced: ‘There is a man-child conceived.’4 “May that day be darkness;Let God above not care about it,Nor light shine on it.5 “Let ^adarkness and gloom claim it for their own;Let a cloud settle upon it;Let all that blackens the day terrify it (the day that I was born) .6 “As for that night, let darkness seize it;Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;Let it not be counted in the number of the months.7 “Behold, let that night be barren and empty;Let no joyful voice enter it.8 “Let those curse it ¹who curse the day,Who are skilled in ^arousing up Leviathan.9 “Let the stars of its early dawn be dark;Let the morning wait in vain for the light,Let it not see the eyelids of morning (the day’s dawning) ,10 Because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,Nor hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “^aWhy did I not die at birth,Come forth from the womb and expire?12 “Why did the knees receive me?And why the breasts, that I would nurse?13 “For now ^aI would have lain down and been quiet;I would have slept then, I would have been at rest in death,14 With ^akings and ^bcounselors of the earth,Who built up now desolate ^cruins for themselves;15 Or with ^aprinces ^bwho had gold,Who filled their houses with silver.16 “Or like a miscarriage which is hidden and put away, I would not exist,Like infants who never saw light.17 “There in death the wicked cease from raging,And there the weary are at ^arest.18 “There the prisoners rest together;They do not hear the taskmaster’s voice.19 “The small and the great are there,And the servant is free from his master. Jer 20:14-18

20 “Why is the ^alight given to him who is in misery,And life to the bitter in soul,21 Who ^await for death, but it does not come,And dig (search) for death more diligently than for ^bhidden treasures,22 Who rejoice exceedingly,And rejoice when they find the grave?23 “Why is the light of day given to a man ^awhose way is hidden,And whom ^bGod has hedged in?24 “For ^amy groaning comes at the sight of my food,And ^bmy cries of despair are poured out like water.25 “For ^athe thing which I greatly fear comes upon me,And that of which I am afraid has come upon me.26 “I ^aam not at ease, nor am I quiet,And I am not at rest, and yet trouble still comes upon me.”