[1] Afterward, Job spoke up and cursed the day he was born. [2] Job said: [3] Perish the day I was born, the night someone said, “A boy has been conceived.” [4] That day—let it be darkness; may God above ignore it, and light not shine on it. [5] May deepest darkness claim it and a cloud linger over it; may all that darkens the day terrify it. [6] May gloom seize that night; may it not be counted in the days of a year; may it not appear in the months. [7] May that night be childless; may no happy singing come in it. [8] May those who curse the day curse it, those with enough skill to awaken Leviathan. [9] May its evening stars stay dark; may it wait in vain for light; may it not see dawn’s gleam, [10] because it didn’t close the doors of my mother’s womb, didn’t hide trouble from my eyes. [11] Why didn’t I die at birth, come forth from the womb and die? [12] Why did knees receive me and breasts let me nurse? [13] For now I would be lying down quietly; I’d sleep; rest would be mine [14] with kings and earth’s advisors, who rebuild ruins for themselves, [15] or with princes who have gold, who fill their houses with silver. [16] Or why wasn’t I like a buried miscarried infant, like babies who never see light? [17] There the wicked rage no more; there the weak rest. [18] Prisoners are entirely at ease; they don’t hear a boss’s voice. [19] Both small and great are there; a servant is free from his masters. [20] Why is light given to the hard worker, life to those bitter of soul, [21] those waiting in vain for death, who search for it more than for treasure, [22] who rejoice excitedly, who are thrilled when they find a grave? [23] Why is light given to the person whose way is hidden, whom God has fenced in? [24] My groans become my bread; my roars pour out like water. [25] Because I was afraid of something awful, and it arrived; what I dreaded came to me. [26] I had no ease, quiet, or rest, and trembling came.
