Job 3

KJ3 Literal Translation — Chapter 3 of 42

1 ¶ After this Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.

2 And Job answered and said:

3 Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night which said, A man-child has been conceived.

4 Let that day be darkness! Let not God look on it from above, and not let the light shine on it.

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Chapter Summary

1 Job curses the day of his birth. 13 The ease of death. 20 He complains of life, because of his anguish.

Key Hebrew Words

קָלַל curse, treat as cursed H7043 · TWOT 2028
חֹ֫שֶׁךְ darkness H2822 · TWOT 769a
צַלְמָ֫וֶת shadow of death H6757 · TWOT 1921b
מָ֫וֶת death H4194 · TWOT 1169a
נוּחַ rest, be at ease H5117 · TWOT 1323
רֶ֫חֶם womb H7358 · TWOT 2146a

People & Context

Job

The sufferer who breaks his silence, opening his mouth to curse the day of his birth and long for death.

Timeline

Job Curses the Day of His Birth

Breaking the silence, Job curses the day he was born and the night of his conception, wishing it to be swallowed by darkness and erased from the calendar.

Job 3:1-10
Job Wishes for Stillbirth and Rest

Job questions why he did not die from the womb, longing for the quiet rest of the grave where kings, prisoners, and slaves are equally free from turmoil.

Job 3:11-19
Job Questions Why the Bitter Keep Living

Job laments that light and life are given to sufferers who long for death. He describes his own unceasing dread and sighing.

Job 3:20-26

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