1 Then Job opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born. 2 He said: 3 “I wish the day I was born would be lost forever. I wish that night they said, 'It’s a boy!’ had never happened. 4 I wish that day had stayed dark. I wish God would forget that day. I wish light had not shined on that day. 5 I wish that day had stayed dark— as dark as death. I wish clouds would hide that day. I wish black clouds could scare away the light from the day I was born. 6 Let the darkness keep that night. Leave that night off the calendar. Don’t put that night in any of the months. 7 Don’t let that night produce anything. Let no happy shout be heard on that night. 8 Some magicians are always wanting to wake Leviathan. So let them say their curses, and curse the day I was born. 9 Let that day’s morning star be dark. Let that night wait for the morning, but may that light never come. Don’t let it see the first rays of sunlight. 10 Why? Because that night didn’t stop me from being born. That night didn’t stop me from seeing these troubles. 11 Why didn’t I die when I was born? Why didn’t I die at birth? 12 Why did my mother hold me on her knees? Why did my mother’s breasts feed me? 13 If I had died when I was born, I would be at peace now. I wish I were asleep and at rest 14 with the kings and wise men who lived on earth in the past. Those men built places for themselves that are now destroyed and gone. 15 I wish I were buried with those rulers that filled their graves with gold and silver! 16 Why wasn’t I a child who died at birth and was buried in the ground? I wish I were like a baby that never saw the light of day. 17 Bad people stop making trouble when they are in the grave. And people who are tired find rest in the grave. 18 Even prisoners find relief in the grave; they don’t hear their guards yelling at them. 19 All kinds of people are in the grave— important people and people who are not so important. Even the slave is freed from his master. 20 “Why must a suffering person continue to live? Why give life to a person whose soul is bitter? 21 That person wants to die, but death does not come. That sad person searches for death more than for hidden treasure. 22 Those people would be happy to find their grave. They would rejoice to find their tomb. 23 But God keeps their future a secret, and builds a wall around them to protect them. 24 When it is time to eat, I only sigh with sadness, not with joy. My complaints pour out like water. 25 I was afraid that something terrible might happen to me. And that is what happened! The things I feared most happened to me. 26 I can’t calm down. I can’t relax. I can’t rest. I’m too upset!”
