Job 3:11-26
Job 3:11-26 The Message (MSG)
“Why didn’t I die at birth, my first breath out of the womb my last? Why were there arms to rock me, and breasts for me to drink from? I could be resting in peace right now, asleep forever, feeling no pain, In the company of kings and statesmen in their royal ruins, Or with princes resplendent in their gold and silver tombs. Why wasn’t I stillborn and buried with all the babies who never saw light, Where the wicked no longer trouble anyone and bone-weary people get a long-deserved rest? Prisoners sleep undisturbed, never again to wake up to the bark of the guards. The small and the great are equals in that place, and slaves are free from their masters. “Why does God bother giving light to the miserable, why bother keeping bitter people alive, Those who want in the worst way to die, and can’t, who can’t imagine anything better than death, Who count the day of their death and burial the happiest day of their life? What’s the point of life when it doesn’t make sense, when God blocks all the roads to meaning? “Instead of bread I get groans for my supper, then leave the table and vomit my anguish. The worst of my fears has come true, what I’ve dreaded most has happened. My repose is shattered, my peace destroyed. No rest for me, ever—death has invaded life.”
Job 3:11-26 King James Version (KJV)
Why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost When I came out of the belly? Why did the knees prevent me? Or why the breasts that I should suck? For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, With kings and counsellors of the earth, Which built desolate places for themselves; Or with princes that had gold, Who filled their houses with silver: Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; As infants which never saw light. There the wicked cease from troubling; And there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; They hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; And the servant is free from his master. Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, And life unto the bitter in soul; Which long for death, but it cometh not; And dig for it more than for hid treasures; Which rejoice exceedingly, And are glad, when they can find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, And whom God hath hedged in? For my sighing cometh before I eat, And my roarings are poured out like the waters. For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, And that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; Yet trouble came.
Job 3:11-26 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
“Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire? Why did the knees receive me, And why the breasts, that I should suck? For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest, With kings and with counselors of the earth, Who rebuilt ruins for themselves; Or with princes who had gold, Who were filling their houses with silver. Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be, As infants that never saw light. There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at rest. The prisoners are at ease together; They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there, And the slave is free from his master. “Why is light given to him who suffers, And life to the bitter of soul, Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures, Who rejoice greatly, And exult when they find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in? For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, And my cries pour out like water. For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”
Job 3:11-26 New Century Version (NCV)
“Why didn’t I die as soon as I was born? Why didn’t I die when I came out of the womb? Why did my mother’s knees receive me, and my mother’s breasts feed me? If they had not been there, I would be lying dead in peace; I would be asleep and at rest with kings and wise men of the earth who built places for themselves that are now ruined. I would be asleep with rulers who filled their houses with gold and silver. Why was I not buried like a child born dead, like a baby who never saw the light of day? In the grave the wicked stop making trouble, and the weary workers are at rest. In the grave there is rest for the captives who no longer hear the shout of the slave driver. People great and small are in the grave, and the slave is freed from his master. “Why is light given to those in misery? Why is life given to those who are so unhappy? They want to die, but death does not come. They search for death more than for hidden treasure. They are very happy when they get to the grave. They cannot see where they are going. God has hidden the road ahead. I make sad sounds as I eat; my groans pour out like water. Everything I feared and dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace or quietness. I have no rest, only trouble.”
Job 3:11-26 American Standard Version (ASV)
Why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when my mother bare me? Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should suck? For now should I have lain down and been quiet; I should have slept; then had I been at rest, With kings and counsellors of the earth, Who built up waste places for themselves; Or with princes that had gold, Who filled their houses with silver: Or as a hidden untimely birth I had not been, As infants that never saw light. There the wicked cease from troubling; And there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together; They hear not the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there: And the servant is free from his master. Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, And life unto the bitter in soul; Who long for death, but it cometh not, And dig for it more than for hid treasures; Who rejoice exceedingly, And are glad, when they can find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, And whom God hath hedged in? For my sighing cometh before I eat, And my groanings are poured out like water. For the thing which I fear cometh upon me, And that which I am afraid of cometh unto me. I am not at ease, neither am I quiet, neither have I rest; But trouble cometh.
Job 3:11-26 New International Version (NIV)
“Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb? Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed? For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest with kings and rulers of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins, with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day? There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest. Captives also enjoy their ease; they no longer hear the slave driver’s shout. The small and the great are there, and the slaves are freed from their owners. “Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave? Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? For sighing has become my daily food; my groans pour out like water. What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.”
Job 3:11-26 New King James Version (NKJV)
“Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest With kings and counselors of the earth, Who built ruins for themselves, Or with princes who had gold, Who filled their houses with silver; Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, Like infants who never saw light? There the wicked cease from troubling, And there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there, And the servant is free from his master. “Why is light given to him who is in misery, And life to the bitter of soul, Who long for death, but it does not come, And search for it more than hidden treasures; Who rejoice exceedingly, And are glad when they can find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in? For my sighing comes before I eat, And my groanings pour out like water. For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes.”
Job 3:11-26 Amplified Bible (AMP)
¶“Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire? “Why did the knees receive me? And why the breasts, that I would nurse? “For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest [in death], With kings and counselors of the earth, Who built up [now desolate] ruins for themselves; Or with princes who had gold, Who filled their houses with silver. “Or like a miscarriage which is hidden and put away, I would not exist, Like infants who never saw light. “There [in death] the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at rest. “There the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the taskmaster’s voice. “The small and the great are there, And the servant is free from his master. [Jer 20:14-18] ¶“Why is the light given to him who is in misery, And life to the bitter in soul, Who wait for death, but it does not come, And dig (search) for death more [diligently] than for hidden treasures, Who rejoice exceedingly, And rejoice when they find the grave? “Why is the light of day given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in? “For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, And my cries [of despair] are poured out like water. “For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me, And that of which I am afraid has come upon me. “I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, and yet trouble still comes [upon me].”
Job 3:11-26 New Living Translation (NLT)
“Why wasn’t I born dead? Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb? Why was I laid on my mother’s lap? Why did she nurse me at her breasts? Had I died at birth, I would now be at peace. I would be asleep and at rest. I would rest with the world’s kings and prime ministers, whose great buildings now lie in ruins. I would rest with princes, rich in gold, whose palaces were filled with silver. Why wasn’t I buried like a stillborn child, like a baby who never lives to see the light? For in death the wicked cause no trouble, and the weary are at rest. Even captives are at ease in death, with no guards to curse them. Rich and poor are both there, and the slave is free from his master. “Oh, why give light to those in misery, and life to those who are bitter? They long for death, and it won’t come. They search for death more eagerly than for hidden treasure. They’re filled with joy when they finally die, and rejoice when they find the grave. Why is life given to those with no future, those God has surrounded with difficulties? I cannot eat for sighing; my groans pour out like water. What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true. I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes.”
Job 3:11-26 English Standard Version Revision 2016 (ESV)
“Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire? Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? For then I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept; then I would have been at rest, with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuilt ruins for themselves, or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light? There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master. “Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? For my sighing comes instead of my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes.”