[1] Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. [2] And Job said, [3] “May the day on which I was to be born perish, As well as the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ [4] “May that day be darkness; May God above not care for it, Nor light shine on it. [5] “May darkness 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 prepared to disturb Leviathan. [9] “May the stars of its twilight be darkened; May it wait for light but have none, And may it not see the breaking dawn; [10] Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb, Or hide trouble from my eyes. [11] “Why did I not die at 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 would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest, [14] With kings and counselors of the earth, Who rebuilt ruins for themselves; [15] Or with rulers who had gold, Who were filling their houses with silver. [16] “Or like a miscarriage which is hidden, I would not exist, As infants that never saw light. [17] “There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at rest. [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 light given to one burdened with grief, And life to the bitter of soul, [21] Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures; [22] Who are filled with jubilation, And rejoice when they find the grave? [23] “Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has shut off? [24] “For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, And my cries pour out like water. [25] “For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread encounters me. [26] “I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”
