Dual Panel1Finally, Job cursed the day of his birth
2by saying to God:
3Blot out the day of my birth and the night when my parents created a son.
4Forget about that day, cover it with darkness,
5and send thick, gloomy shadows to fill it with dread.
6Erase that night from the calendar and conceal it with darkness.
7Don't let children be created or joyful shouts be heard ever again in that night.
8Let those with magic powers place a curse on that day.
9Darken its morning stars and remove all hope of light,
10because it let me be born into a world of trouble.
11Why didn't I die at birth?
12Why was I accepted and allowed to nurse at my mother's breast?
13Now I would be at peace in the silent world below
14with kings and their advisors whose palaces lie in ruins,
15and with rulers once rich with silver and gold.
16I wish I had been born dead and then buried, never to see the light of day.
17In the world of the dead, the wicked and the weary rest without a worry.
18Everyone is there--
19where captives and slaves are free at last.
20Why does God let me live when life is miserable and so bitter?
21I keep longing for death more than I would seek a valuable treasure.
22Nothing could make me happier than to be in the grave.
23Why do I go on living when God has me surrounded, and I can't see the road?
24Moaning and groaning are my food and drink,
25and my worst fears have all come true.
26I have no peace or rest-- only troubles and worries.