| New King James Version | International Standard Version |
| 1After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. | 1After this, Job spoke up solemnly, cursing the day he was born. |
| 2And Job spoke, and said: | 2This is what Job 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 when I was born be annihilated, along with the night when it was announced, 'It's a boy!' |
| 4May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it. | 4Let that day be dark; let God above not care about it; let no light shine over 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 darkness and deep gloom reclaim it; let clouds settle down on it; let blackness in mid-day 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 darkness carry that night away; let it not take its place joyfully among the days of the year; let it not be entered into the calendar. |
| 7Oh, may that night be barren! May no joyful shout come into it! | 7"Yes, let that night be barren; let it not appear with its joyful shout. |
| 8May those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan. | 8Let whoever curses days curse it— those who are ready to awaken monsters. |
| 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 the stars of its evening twilight be dark; let it hope for light but let there be none; let it not see the breaking rays of the dawn. |
| 10Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, Nor hide sorrow from my eyes. | 10"Because that night refused to shut the doors of my mother's womb; it failed to keep me from seeing this trouble. |
| 11“Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? | 11Why didn't I die while I was still in the womb, or die while I was being born? |
| 12Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? | 12Why was there a lap to hold me, and why were there breasts to nurse me? |
| 13For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest | 13"If I had died, I would be lying down by now, undisturbed, asleep, and at rest, |
| 14With kings and counselors of the earth, Who built ruins for themselves, | 14along with kings and counselors of the earth, who used to build for themselves what are now only ruins, |
| 15Or with princes who had gold, Who filled their houses with silver; | 15or princes who amassed gold for themselves, and who kept filling their houses with silver. |
| 16Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, Like infants who never saw light? | 16"Or why was I not buried like a stillborn child, like babies who never saw the light? |
| 17There the wicked cease from troubling, And there the weary are at rest. | 17In that place, the wicked stop causing trouble, and there, those whose strength is exhausted are at rest. |
| 18There the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the voice of the oppressor. | 18In that place, those who once were prisoners will be at ease together; they won't hear the voice of oppressors. |
| 19The small and great are there, And the servant is free from his master. | 19The unimportant and the important are both there, and the servant is free from his master. |
| 20“Why is light given to him who is in misery, And life to the bitter of soul, | 20"Why does God give light to the sufferer or life to the bitter person: |
| 21Who long for death, but it does not come, And search for it more than hidden treasures; | 21To those who are longing for death— even though it does not come? To those who search for it more than for hidden treasure? |
| 22Who rejoice exceedingly, And are glad when they can find the grave? | 22To those who are happy beyond measure when they reach their graves? |
| 23Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in? | 23To the formerly successful man who lost his way in life, and God fenced him in? |
| 24For my sighing comes before I eat, And my groanings pour out like water. | 24"As far as I'm concerned, my food comes to me in the form of sighs, and my cries of anguish pour out like water. |
| 25For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. | 25For the dreaded thing that I feared has happened to me, what caused me to worry has engulfed me. |
| 26I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes.” | 26I will not be at ease; I will not be quiet; I will not rest; because trouble has arrived." |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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