Job 3:1-9

1 After this hath Job opened his mouth, and revileth his day.

2 And Job answereth and saith: --

3 Let the day perish in which I am born, And the night that hath said: `A man-child hath been conceived.'

4 That day -- let it be darkness, Let not God require it from above, Nor let light shine upon it.

5 Let darkness and death-shade redeem it, Let a cloud tabernacle upon it, Let them terrify it as the most bitter of days.

6 That night -- let thick darkness take it, Let it not be united to days of the year, Into the number of months let it not come.

7 Lo! that night -- let it be gloomy, Let no singing come into it.

8 Let the cursers of day mark it, Who are ready to wake up Leviathan.

9 Let the stars of its twilight be dark, Let it wait for light, and there is none, And let it not look on the eyelids of the dawn.

Job 3:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 3

In this chapter we have an account of Job's cursing the day of his birth, and the night of his conception; Job 3:1-3; first the day, to which he wishes the most extreme darkness, Job 3:4,5; then the night, to which he wishes the same and that it might be destitute of all joy, and be cursed by others as well as by himself, Job 3:6-9; The reasons follow, because it did not prevent his coming into the world, and because he died not on it, Job 3:10-12; which would, as he judged, have been an happiness to him; and this he illustrates by the still and quiet state of the dead, the company they are with, and their freedom from all trouble, oppression, and bondage, Job 3:13-19; but however, since it was otherwise with him, he desires his life might not be prolonged, and expostulates about the continuance of it, Job 3:20-23; and this by reason of his present troubles, which were many and great, and came upon him as he feared they would, and which had made him uneasy in his prosperity, Job 3:24-26.