1 After seven days Job cried out and cursed the day he had been born,
2 saying:
3 “Let the day I was born be destroyed,and the night it was said, ‘A boy is born!’
4 Let that day turn to darkness.Don’t let God care about it.Don’t let light shine on it.
5 Let darkness and gloom have that day.Let a cloud hide it.Let thick darkness cover its light.
6 Let thick darkness capture that night.Don’t count it among the days of the yearor put it in any of the months.
7 Let that night be empty,with no shout of joy to be heard.
8 Let those who curse days curse that day.Let them prepare to wake up the sea monster Leviathan.
9 Let that day’s morning stars never appear;let it wait for daylight that never comes.Don’t let it see the first light of dawn,
10 because it allowed me to be bornand did not hide trouble from my eyes.
11 “Why didn’t I die as soon as I was born?Why didn’t I die when I came out of the womb?
12 Why did my mother’s knees receive me,and my mother’s breasts feed me?
13 If they had not been there,I would be lying dead in peace;I would be asleep and at rest
14 with kings and wise men of the earthwho built places for themselves that are now ruined.
15 I would be asleep with rulerswho filled their houses with gold and silver.
16 Why was I not buried like a child born dead,like a baby who never saw the light of day?
17 In the grave the wicked stop making trouble,and the weary workers are at rest.
18 In the grave there is rest for the captiveswho no longer hear the shout of the slave driver.
19 People great and small are in the grave,and the slave is freed from his master.
20 “Why is light given to those in misery?Why is life given to those who are so unhappy?
21 They want to die, but death does not come.They search for death more than for hidden treasure.
22 They are very happywhen they get to the grave.
23 They cannot see where they are going.God has hidden the road ahead.
24 I make sad sounds as I eat;my groans pour out like water.
25 Everything I feared and dreadedhas happened to me.
26 I have no peace or quietness.I have no rest, only trouble.”