3After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2Job said: 3“Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night that said, ‘A man-child is conceived.’ 4Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, or light shine on it. 5Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds settle upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. 6That night—let thick darkness seize it! let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months. 7Yes, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry be heard in it. 8Let those curse it who curse the Sea, those who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan. 9Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none; may it not see the eyelids of the morning— 10because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb, and hide trouble from my eyes.
11“Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? 12Why were there knees to receive me, or breasts for me to suck? 13Now I would be lying down and quiet; I would be asleep; then I would be at rest 14with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuild ruins for themselves, 15or with princes who have gold, who fill their houses with silver. 16Or why was I not buried like a stillborn child, like an infant that never sees the light? 17There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. 18There the prisoners are at ease together; they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. 19The small and the great are there, and the slaves are free from their masters.
20“Why is light given to one in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, 21who long for death, but it does not come, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures; 22who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they find the grave? 23Why is light given to one who cannot see the way, whom God has fenced in? 24For my sighing comes like my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. 25Truly the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. 26I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble comes.”
4Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: 2“If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended? But who can keep from speaking? 3See, you have instructed many; you have strengthened the weak hands. 4Your words have supported those who were stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees. 5But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed. 6Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?
7“Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? 8As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. 9By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. 10The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken. 11The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
12“Now a word came stealing to me, my ear received the whisper of it. 13Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on mortals, 14dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake. 15A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh bristled. 16It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice: 17‘Can mortals be righteous before God? Can human beings be pure before their Maker? 18Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error; 19how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth. 20Between morning and evening they are destroyed; they perish forever without any regarding it. 21Their tent-cord is plucked up within them, and they die devoid of wisdom.’
From the oremus Bible Browser https://bible.oremus.org v2.9.2 30 June 2021.