1 A fter this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

2 A nd Job spoke, and said:

3 “ May the day perish on which I was born, And the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’

4 M ay that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it.

5 M ay darkness and the shadow of death claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the day terrify it.

6 A s 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 O h, may that night be barren! May no joyful shout come into it!

8 M ay those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan.

9 M ay the stars of its morning be dark; May it look for light, but have none, And not see the dawning of the day;

10 B ecause it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, Nor hide sorrow from my eyes.

11 “ Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?

12 W hy did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?

13 F or now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest

14 W ith kings and counselors of the earth, Who built ruins for themselves,

15 O r with princes who had gold, Who filled their houses with silver;

16 O r why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, Like infants who never saw light?

17 T here the wicked cease from troubling, And there the weary are at rest.

18 T here the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the voice of the oppressor.

19 T he small and great are there, And the servant is free from his master.

20 “ Why is light given to him who is in misery, And life to the bitter of soul,

21 W ho long for death, but it does not come, And search for it more than hidden treasures;

22 W ho rejoice exceedingly, And are glad when they can find the grave?

23 W hy is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in?

24 F or my sighing comes before I eat, And my groanings pour out like water.

25 F or the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me.

26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes.”