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3:1  Then Job opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born.
3:2  He said,
3:3  “I wish the day I was born would be lost forever. I wish the night they said, ‘It’s a boy!’ had never happened.
3:4  I wish that day had remained dark. I wish God above had forgotten that day and not let any light shine on it.
3:5  I wish that bitter day had remained as dark as death, covered with the darkest clouds.
3:6  I wish the darkness had carried away that night, that it was left off the calendar and not included in any of the months.
3:7  I wish that night had produced nothing and no happy shouts had been heard.
3:8  Some magicians think they can wake Leviathan. So let them say their curses and curse the day I was born.
3:9  Let that day’s morning star be dark. Let that night wait for a morning that never comes. I wish it had never seen the first rays of sunlight.
3:10  I wish it had stopped me from being born and kept me from seeing all these troubles.
3:11  Why didn’t I die when I was born? Why didn’t I die as I came from my mother’s womb?
3:12  Why did my mother hold me on her knees? Why did her breasts feed me?
3:13  If I had died when I was born, I would be at peace now. I wish I were asleep and at rest
3:14  with the kings and their advisors who built palaces that are now in ruins.
3:15  I wish I were buried with rulers who filled their graves with gold and silver.
3:16  Why wasn’t I a child who died at birth and was put in the ground? I wish I had been buried like a baby who never saw the light of day.
3:17  There the wicked stop causing trouble, and the weary find rest.
3:18  Even prisoners find relief there; they no longer hear their guards shouting at them.
3:19  Everyone—from the greatest to the least important—will be there, and even the slave is free from his master.
3:20  “Why must a suffering person continue to live? Why let anyone live such a bitter life?
3:21  Such people want to die, but death does not come. They search for death more than for hidden treasure.
3:22  They would be happy to find their grave. They would rejoice to find their tomb.
3:23  But God keeps their future a secret and builds a wall around them to protect them.
3:24  When it is time to eat, all I can do is sigh with sadness, not joy. My groans pour out like water.
3:25  I was afraid something terrible would happen, and what I feared most has happened.
3:26  I cannot calm down or relax. I am too upset to rest!”