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