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Job 3
New International Version

### Job Speaks

3 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.(A) 2 He said:

3 “May the day of my birth perish,
and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’(B)
4 That day—may it turn to darkness;
may God above not care about it;
may no light shine on it.
5 May gloom and utter darkness(C) claim it once more;
may a cloud settle over it;
may blackness overwhelm it.
6 That night—may thick darkness(D) seize it;
may it not be included among the days of the year
nor be entered in any of the months.
7 May that night be barren;
may no shout of joy(E) be heard in it.
8 May those who curse days[a] curse that day,(F)
those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.(G)
9 May its morning stars become dark;
may it wait for daylight in vain
and not see the first rays of dawn,(H)
10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
to hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as I came from the womb?(I)
12 Why were there knees to receive me(J)
and breasts that I might be nursed?
13 For now I would be lying down(K) in peace;
I would be asleep and at rest(L)
14 with kings and rulers of the earth,(M)
who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,(N)
15 with princes(O) who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.(P)
16 Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,(Q)
like an infant who never saw the light of day?(R)
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,(S)
and there the weary are at rest.(T)
18 Captives(U) also enjoy their ease;
they no longer hear the slave driver’s(V) shout.(W)
19 The small and the great are there,(X)
and the slaves are freed from their owners.

20 “Why is light given to those in misery,
and life to the bitter of soul,(Y)
21 to those who long for death that does not come,(Z)
who search for it more than for hidden treasure,(AA)
22 who are filled with gladness
and rejoice when they reach the grave?(AB)
23 Why is life given to a man
whose way is hidden,(AC)
whom God has hedged in?(AD)
24 For sighing(AE) has become my daily food;(AF)
my groans(AG) pour out like water.(AH)
25 What I feared has come upon me;
what I dreaded(AI) has happened to me.(AJ)
26 I have no peace,(AK) no quietness;
I have no rest,(AL) but only turmoil.”(AM)

#### Footnotes

1. Job 3:8 Or curse the sea

#### Cross references

1. Job 3:1 : Jer 15:10; 20:14
2. Job 3:3 : ver 11, 16; Job 10:18-19; Ecc 4:2; 6:3; Jer 20:14-18; Mt 26:24
3. Job 3:5 : Job 10:21, 22; 34:22; 38:17; Ps 23:4; 44:19; 88:12; Jer 2:6; 13:16
4. Job 3:6 : Job 23:17; 30:26
5. Job 3:7 : Ps 20:5; 33:3; 65:13; Isa 26:19; Jer 51:48
6. Job 3:8 : Job 10:18; Jer 20:14
7. Job 3:8 : S Ge 1:21; Job 41:1, 8, 10, 25; Ps 74:14; 104:26
8. Job 3:9 : Job 41:18; Hab 3:4
9. Job 3:11 : S ver 3
10. Job 3:12 : S Ge 48:12; Isa 66:12
11. Job 3:13 : Job 17:13; 30:23
12. Job 3:13 : ver 17; Job 7:8-10, 21; 10:22; 13:19; 14:10-12; 19:27; 21:13, 23; 27:19; Ps 139:11; Isa 8:22
13. Job 3:14 : Job 9:24; 12:17; Isa 14:9; Eze 32:28-32
14. Job 3:14 : Job 15:28; Jer 51:37; Na 3:7
15. Job 3:15 : Job 12:21; Isa 45:1
16. Job 3:15 : Job 15:29; 20:10; 27:17; Ps 49:16-17; Pr 13:22; 28:8; Ecc 2:26; Isa 2:7; Zep 1:11
17. Job 3:16 : Ps 58:8; Ecc 4:3; 6:3
18. Job 3:16 : S ver 3; Ps 71:6
19. Job 3:17 : ver 26; Job 30:26; Ecc 4:2; Isa 14:3
20. Job 3:17 : S ver 13
21. Job 3:18 : Isa 51:14
22. Job 3:18 : S Ge 15:13
23. Job 3:18 : Job 39:7
24. Job 3:19 : Job 9:22; 17:16; 21:33; 24:24; 30:23; Ecc 12:5
25. Job 3:20 : S 1Sa 1:10; Eze 27:30-31
26. Job 3:21 : Rev 9:6
27. Job 3:21 : Ps 119:127; Pr 2:4
28. Job 3:22 : Job 7:16; Ecc 4:3; Jer 8:3
29. Job 3:23 : Pr 4:19; Isa 59:10; Jer 13:16; 23:12
30. Job 3:23 : Job 6:4; 16:13; 19:6, 8, 12; Ps 88:8; La 2:4; 3:7; Hos 2:6
31. Job 3:24 : Ps 5:1; 38:9; Isa 35:10
32. Job 3:24 : Job 6:7; 33:20; Ps 107:18
33. Job 3:24 : Ps 22:1; 32:3; 38:8
34. Job 3:24 : 1Sa 1:15; Job 30:16; Ps 6:6; 22:14; 42:3, 4; 80:5; Isa 53:12; La 2:12
35. Job 3:25 : Job 7:9; 9:28; 30:15; Hos 13:3
36. Job 3:25 : S Ge 42:36
37. Job 3:26 : Isa 48:22; Jn 14:27
38. Job 3:26 : Job 7:4, 14; Ps 6:6; Da 4:5; Mt 11:28
39. Job 3:26 : S ver 17; S Job 10:18; S 19:8

New International Version (NIV)

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