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

New Living Translation
At last Job spoke, and he cursed the day of his birth.

English Standard Version
After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

Berean Standard Bible
After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

King James Bible
After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

New King James Version
After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

New American Standard Bible
Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

NASB 1995
Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

NASB 1977
Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

Legacy Standard Bible
Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

Amplified Bible
After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

Christian Standard Bible
After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born.

American Standard Version
After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

Contemporary English Version
Finally, Job cursed the day of his birth

English Revised Version
After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
After all this, Job [finally] opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born.

Good News Translation
Finally Job broke the silence and cursed the day on which he had been born.

International Standard Version
After this, Job spoke up solemnly, cursing the day he was born.

Majority Standard Bible
After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

NET Bible
After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born.

New Heart English Bible
After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day.

Webster's Bible Translation
After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day.

World English Bible
After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day of his birth.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
After this Job has opened his mouth, and reviles his day.

Young's Literal Translation
After this hath Job opened his mouth, and revileth his day.

Smith's Literal Translation
After this Job opened his mouth, and he will curse his day.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day,

Catholic Public Domain Version
After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day,

New American Bible
After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.

New Revised Standard Version
After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
AFTER this Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day wherein he was born.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And after this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day on which he was born
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job Laments His Birth
1After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2And this is what he said:…

Cross References
Jeremiah 20:14-18
Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed. / Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, saying, “A son is born to you,” bringing him great joy. / May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. May he hear an outcry in the morning and a battle cry at noon, ...

Ecclesiastes 7:1
A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.

Job 6:8-9
If only my request were granted and God would fulfill my hope: / that God would be willing to crush me, to unleash His hand and cut me off!

Job 7:15-16
so that I would prefer strangling and death over my life in this body. / I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

Job 10:18-19
Why then did You bring me from the womb? Oh, that I had died, and no eye had seen me! / If only I had never come to be, but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

Job 14:13
If only You would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until Your anger has passed! If only You would appoint a time for me and then remember me!

Job 17:1
“My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished; the grave awaits me.

Job 30:15-17
Terrors are turned loose against me; they drive away my dignity as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed like a cloud. / And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction grip me. / Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never rest.

Job 10:1
“I loathe my own life; I will express my complaint and speak in the bitterness of my soul.

Lamentations 3:1-20
I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath. / He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light. / Indeed, He keeps turning His hand against me all day long. ...

1 Kings 19:4
while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

Jonah 4:3
And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Matthew 26:38
Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.”

Mark 14:34
Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.”

Luke 22:44
And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.


Treasury of Scripture

After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

After.

Job 1:22
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Job 2:10
But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

opened.

Job 35:16
Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.

Psalm 39:2,3
I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred…

Psalm 106:33
Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.

cursed.

Job 3:3
Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.

Job 1:11
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job 2:5,9
But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face…

his day.

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Afterward Birth Cursed Cursing Job Mouth Opened Opening Revileth
Job 3
1. Job curses the day and services of his birth.
13. The ease of death.
20. He complains of life, because of his anguish.














After this
This phrase indicates a transition from the previous events in the narrative. Job has just endured immense suffering, including the loss of his children, wealth, and health. The phrase "after this" sets the stage for a new section where Job begins to express his deep anguish. It highlights a shift from silent suffering to vocal lamentation, marking a pivotal moment in the book.

Job opened his mouth
In ancient Near Eastern culture, opening one's mouth to speak was a significant act, often associated with making declarations or pronouncements. This phrase suggests that Job is about to articulate something of great importance. It also indicates a move from internal to external expression, as Job transitions from silent endurance to verbalizing his pain.

and cursed the day of his birth
Cursing one's birth was a profound expression of despair and hopelessness. In the cultural context of the time, life was considered a gift from God, and to curse one's birth was to question the very gift of life itself. This act reflects Job's deep suffering and his struggle to understand his circumstances. It connects to other biblical instances where individuals express similar despair, such as Jeremiah 20:14-18. This lamentation foreshadows the intense dialogues that follow, where Job seeks answers and understanding from God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Job
A man described as blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. He is the central figure in the Book of Job, known for his immense suffering and perseverance.

2. The Day of Job's Birth
This is the specific day Job curses, marking a significant moment of despair in his life. It symbolizes the beginning of his earthly existence, which he now views as a source of suffering.

3. Job's Suffering
Prior to this verse, Job has lost his wealth, children, and health. His lament in chapter 3 is a response to these overwhelming trials.
Teaching Points
The Reality of Suffering
Suffering is a part of the human experience, even for the righteous. Job's lament is a raw expression of his pain, reminding us that it is okay to bring our deepest emotions before God.

The Importance of Lament
Lament is a biblical way to process grief and suffering. It allows believers to express their pain honestly while still maintaining a relationship with God.

Faith Amidst Despair
Even in his despair, Job does not curse God. This teaches us the importance of maintaining faith and reverence for God, even when we do not understand our circumstances.

The Value of Life
Job's curse on the day of his birth challenges us to consider the value and purpose of life, even amidst suffering. It encourages believers to seek God's perspective on their existence.

Community Support
Job's friends initially come to comfort him, highlighting the importance of community support during times of suffering. Believers are called to support one another in love and compassion.III.

(1) After this opened Job his mouth.--There is a striking similarity between this chapter and Jeremiah 20:14-18, so much so that one must be borrowed from the other; the question is, which is the original? Is Jeremiah the germ of this? or is this the tree from which a branch has been hewn by Jeremiah? Our own conviction is that Job is the original, inasmuch as this chapter is indispensable to the development of the poem; but in Jeremiah the passage occurs casually as the record of a passing mood of despair. It is, moreover, apparently clear that Jeremiah is quoting Job as he might quote one of the Psalms or any other writing with which he was familiar. He was applying to daily life the well-known expression of a patriarchal experience, whereas in the other case the words of Job would be the ideal magnifying of a commonplace and realistic experience.

Verse 1. - After this opened Job his mouth. The first to take the word is Job, as, indeed, etiquette made necessary, when the visit paid was one of condolence. It can only be conjectured what the feelings were which had kept him silent so long. We may, perhaps, suggest that in the countenances and manner of his friends he saw something which displeased him, something indicative of their belief that he had brought his afflictions upon himself by secret sins of a heinous character. Pharisaism finds it very difficult to conceal itself; signs of it are almost sure to escape; often it manifests itself, without a word spoken, most offensively. The phrase, "opened his mouth," is not to be dismissed merely as a Hebraism. It is one used only on solemn occasions, and implies the utterance of deep thoughts, well considered beforehand (Psalm 78:21; Matthew 5:2), or of feelings long repressed, and now at length allowed expression. And cursed his day; "cursed," i.e., the "day of his birth." Some critics think that "cursed" is too strong a word, and suggest "reviled;" but it cannot be denied that "to curse" is a frequent meaning of קָלַל and it is difficult to see in Job's words (vers. 3-10) anything but a "curse" of a very intense character. To curse one's natal day is not, perhaps, a very wise act, since it can have no effect on the day or on anything else; but so great a prophet as Jeremiah imitated Job in this respect (Jeremiah 20:14-18), so that before Christianity it would seem that men were allowed thus to relieve their feelings. All that such cursing means is that one wishes one had never been born.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
After
אַחֲרֵי־ (’a·ḥă·rê-)
Preposition
Strong's 310: The hind or following part

this,
כֵ֗ן (ḵên)
Adverb
Strong's 3651: So -- thus

Job
אִיּוֹב֙ (’î·yō·wḇ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 347: Job -- a patriarch

opened
פָּתַ֤ח (pā·ṯaḥ)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6605: To open wide, to loosen, begin, plough, carve

his mouth
פִּ֔יהוּ (pî·hū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6310: The mouth, edge, portion, side, according to

and cursed
וַיְקַלֵּ֖ל (way·qal·lêl)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7043: To be slight, swift or trifling

the day of his [birth].
יוֹמֽוֹ׃ (yō·w·mōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day


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OT Poetry: Job 3:1 After this Job opened his mouth (Jb)
Job 2:13
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