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Job's First Speech

Blot Out the Day of My Birth

(A) Finally, Job cursed the day
of his birth
    by saying to God:
Blot out the day of my birth
and the night when my parents
    created a son.
Forget about that day,
    cover it with darkness,
and send thick, gloomy shadows
    to fill it with dread.
Erase that night from the calendar
    and conceal it with darkness.
Don't let children be created
or joyful shouts be heard
    ever again in that night.
Let those with magic powers[a]
    place a curse on that day.
Darken its morning stars
    and remove all hope of light,
10 because it let me be born
    into a world of trouble.

Why Didn't I Die at Birth?

11 Why didn't I die at birth?
12 Why was I accepted[b]
    and allowed to nurse
    at my mother's breast?
13 Now I would be at peace
    in the silent world below
14 with kings and their advisors
    whose palaces lie in ruins,
15 and with rulers once rich
    with silver and gold.
16 I wish I had been born dead
and then buried, never to see
    the light of day.
17 In the world of the dead,
the wicked and the weary rest
    without a worry.
* 18 Everyone is there—
19 where captives and slaves
    are free at last.

Why Does God Let Me Live?

20 Why does God let me live
when life is miserable
    and so bitter?
21 (B) I keep longing for death
more than I would seek
    a valuable treasure.
22 Nothing could make me happier
    than to be in the grave.
23 Why do I go on living
when God has me surrounded,
    and I can't see the road?
24 Moaning and groaning
    are my food and drink,
25 and my worst fears
    have all come true.
26 I have no peace or rest—
    only troubles and worries.

Eliphaz's First Speech

Please Be Patient and Listen

Eliphaz from Teman[c] said:
Please be patient and listen
    to what I have to say.
* Remember how your words
have guided and encouraged
    many in need.
But now you feel discouraged
    when struck by trouble.
You respect God and live right,
    so don't lose hope!
No truly innocent person
    has ever died young.
In my experience, only those
who plant seeds of evil
    harvest trouble,
and then they are swept away
    by the angry breath of God.
10 They may roar and growl
    like powerful lions.
But when God breaks their teeth,
11 they starve, and their children
    are scattered.

A Secret Was Told to Me

12 A secret was told to me
    in a faint whisper—
13 (C) I was overcome by sleep,
    but disturbed by dreams;
14 I trembled with fear,
15 and my hair stood on end,
    as a wind blew past my face.
16 It stopped and stood still.
Then a form appeared—
    a shapeless form.
And from the silence,
    I heard a voice say,
17 “No humans are innocent
in the eyes of God
    their Creator.
18 He finds fault with his servants
    and even with his angels.
19 Humans are formed from clay
and are fragile as moths,
    so what chance do you have?
20 Born after daybreak,
you die before nightfall
    and disappear forever.
21 Your tent pegs are pulled up,
and you leave this life,
    having gained no wisdom.”

Footnotes

  1. 3.8 those with magic powers: The Hebrew text has “those who can place a curse on the day and rouse up Leviathan,” which was some kind of sea monster. God's victory over this monster sometimes stood for God's power over all creation and sometimes for his defeat of his enemies (see Isaiah 27.1). In Job 41.1, Leviathan is either a sea monster or a crocodile with almost supernatural powers.
  2. 3.12 Why was I accepted: The Hebrew text has “Why were there knees to receive me,” which may refer either to Job's mother or to his father, who would have placed Job on his knees to show that he had accepted him as his child.
  3. 4.1 Teman: See the note at 2.11.

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