3:1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

3:2 He said:

3:3 "May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, 'A boy is born!'

3:4 That day--may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine upon it.

3:5 May darkness and deep shadow claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm its light.

3:6 That night--may thick darkness seize it; may it not be included among the days of the year nor be entered in any of the months.

3:7 May that night be barren; may no shout of joy be heard in it.

3:8 May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.

3:9 May its morning stars become dark; may it wait for daylight in vain and not see the first rays of dawn,

3:10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me to hide trouble from my eyes.

3:11 "Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?

3:12 Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed?

3:13 For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest

3:14 with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,

3:15 with rulers who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.

3:16 Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day?

3:17 There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest.

3:18 Captives also enjoy their ease; they no longer hear the slave driver's shout.

3:19 The small and the great are there, and the slave is freed from his master.

3:20 "Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul,

3:21 to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure,

3:22 who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave?

3:23 Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?

3:24 For sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water.

3:25 What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.

3:26 I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil."