| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. | 1At last Job spoke, and he cursed the day of his birth. |
| 2And Job spoke, and said: | 2He said: |
| 3“May the day perish on which I was born, And the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’ | 3“Let the day of my birth be erased, and the night I was conceived. |
| 4May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it. | 4Let that day be turned to darkness. Let it be lost even to God on high, and let no light shine on it. |
| 5May darkness and the shadow of death claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the day terrify it. | 5Let the darkness and utter gloom claim that day for its own. Let a black cloud overshadow it, and let the darkness terrify it. |
| 6As for that night, may darkness seize it; May it not rejoice among the days of the year, May it not come into the number of the months. | 6Let that night be blotted off the calendar, never again to be counted among the days of the year, never again to appear among the months. |
| 7Oh, may that night be barren! May no joyful shout come into it! | 7Let that night be childless. Let it have no joy. |
| 8May those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan. | 8Let those who are experts at cursing— whose cursing could rouse Leviathan — curse that day. |
| 9May the stars of its morning be dark; May it look for light, but have none, And not see the dawning of the day; | 9Let its morning stars remain dark. Let it hope for light, but in vain; may it never see the morning light. |
| 10Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, Nor hide sorrow from my eyes. | 10Curse that day for failing to shut my mother’s womb, for letting me be born to see all this trouble. |
| 11“Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? | 11“Why wasn’t I born dead? Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb? |
| 12Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? | 12Why was I laid on my mother’s lap? Why did she nurse me at her breasts? |
| 13For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest | 13Had I died at birth, I would now be at peace. I would be asleep and at rest. |
| 14With kings and counselors of the earth, Who built ruins for themselves, | 14I would rest with the world’s kings and prime ministers, whose great buildings now lie in ruins. |
| 15Or with princes who had gold, Who filled their houses with silver; | 15I would rest with princes, rich in gold, whose palaces were filled with silver. |
| 16Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, Like infants who never saw light? | 16Why wasn’t I buried like a stillborn child, like a baby who never lives to see the light? |
| 17There the wicked cease from troubling, And there the weary are at rest. | 17For in death the wicked cause no trouble, and the weary are at rest. |
| 18There the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the voice of the oppressor. | 18Even captives are at ease in death, with no guards to curse them. |
| 19The small and great are there, And the servant is free from his master. | 19Rich and poor are both there, and the slave is free from his master. |
| 20“Why is light given to him who is in misery, And life to the bitter of soul, | 20“Oh, why give light to those in misery, and life to those who are bitter? |
| 21Who long for death, but it does not come, And search for it more than hidden treasures; | 21They long for death, and it won’t come. They search for death more eagerly than for hidden treasure. |
| 22Who rejoice exceedingly, And are glad when they can find the grave? | 22They’re filled with joy when they finally die, and rejoice when they find the grave. |
| 23Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in? | 23Why is life given to those with no future, those God has surrounded with difficulties? |
| 24For my sighing comes before I eat, And my groanings pour out like water. | 24I cannot eat for sighing; my groans pour out like water. |
| 25For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. | 25What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true. |
| 26I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes.” | 26I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes.” |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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