| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. | 1After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born. |
| 2And Job spake, and said, | 2He said: |
| 3Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. | 3May the day I was born perish, and the night when they said, "A boy is conceived." |
| 4Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. | 4If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above not care about it, or light shine on it. |
| 5Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. | 5May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it. May an eclipse of the sun terrify it. |
| 6As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. | 6If only darkness had taken that night away! May it not appear among the days of the year or be listed in the calendar. |
| 7Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. | 7Yes, may that night be barren; may no joyful shout be heard in it. |
| 8Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. | 8Let those who curse certain days cast a spell on it, those who are skilled in rousing Leviathan. |
| 9Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: | 9May its morning stars grow dark. May it wait for daylight but have none; may it not see the breaking of dawn. |
| 10Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes. | 10For that night did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, and hide sorrow from my eyes. |
| 11Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? | 11Why was I not stillborn; why didn't I die as I came from the womb? |
| 12Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? | 12Why did the knees receive me, and why were there breasts for me to nurse? |
| 13For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, | 13Now I would certainly be lying down in peace; I would be asleep. Then I would be at rest |
| 14With kings and counsellers of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; | 14with the kings and counselors of the earth, who rebuilt ruined cities for themselves, |
| 15Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: | 15or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. |
| 16Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. | 16Or why was I not hidden like a miscarried child, like infants who never see daylight? |
| 17There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. | 17There the wicked cease to make trouble, and there the weary find rest. |
| 18There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. | 18The captives are completely at ease; they do not hear the voice of their oppressor. |
| 19The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. | 19Both small and great are there, and the slave is set free from his master. |
| 20Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; | 20Why is light given to one burdened with grief, and life to those whose existence is bitter, |
| 21Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; | 21who wait for death, but it does not come, and search for it more than for hidden treasure, |
| 22Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? | 22who are filled with much joy and are glad when they reach the grave? |
| 23Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? | 23Why is life given to a man whose path is hidden, whom God has hedged in? |
| 24For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. | 24I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water. |
| 25For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. | 25For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. |
| 26I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came. | 26I cannot relax or be still; I have no rest, for trouble comes. |
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