Job 3

¹Aftir these thingis Joob openyde his mouth,

²and curside his dai, and seide, Perische the dai in which Y was borun,

³and the nyyt in which it was seid, The man is conceyued.

⁴Thilke dai be turnede in to derknessis; God seke not it aboue, and be it not in mynde, nethir be it liytned with liyt.

⁵Derknessis make it derk, and the schadewe of deeth and myist occupie it; and be it wlappid with bittirnesse.

⁶Derk whirlwynde holde that niyt; be it not rikynyd among the daies of the yeer, nethir be it noumbrid among the monethes.

⁷Thilke nyyt be soleyn, and not worthi of preisyng.

⁸Curse thei it, that cursen the dai, that ben redi to reise Leuyathan.

⁹Sterris be maad derk with the derknesse therof; abide it liyt, and se it not, nethir the bigynnyng of the morwetid risyng vp.

¹⁰For it closide not the doris of the wombe, that bar me, nethir took awei yuels fro min iyen.

¹¹Whi was not Y deed in the wombe? whi yede Y out of the wombe, and perischide not anoon?

¹²Whi was Y takun on knees? whi was Y suclid with teetis?

¹³For now Y slepynge schulde be stille, and schulde reste in my sleep,

¹⁴with kyngis, and consuls of erthe, that bilden to hem soleyn places;

¹⁵ethir with prynces that han gold in possessioun, and fillen her housis with siluer;

¹⁶ethir as a `thing hid not borun Y schulde not stonde, ethir whiche conseyued sien not liyt.

¹⁷There wickid men ceessiden of noise, and there men maad wery of strengthe restiden.

¹⁸And sum tyme boundun togidere with out disese thei herden not the voys of the wrongful axere.

¹⁹A litil man and greet man be there, and a seruaunt free fro his lord.

²⁰Whi is liyt youun to the wretche, and lijf to hem that ben in bitternesse of soule?

²¹Whiche abiden deeth, and it cometh not;

²²as men diggynge out tresour and ioien greetly, whanne thei han founde a sepulcre?

²³Whi is liyt youun to a man, whos weie is hid, and God hath cumpassid hym with derknessis?

²⁴Bifore that Y ete, Y siyhe; and as of watir flowynge, so is my roryng.

²⁵For the drede, which Y dredde, cam to me; and that, that Y schamede, bifelde.

²⁶Whether Y dissymilide not? whether Y was not stille? whether Y restide not? and indignacioun cometh on me.

Job 3

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

²And Job spake, and said,

³Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.

⁴Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

⁵Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day 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.

⁷Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.

⁸Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.

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:

¹⁰Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

¹¹Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?

¹²Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?

¹³For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

¹⁴With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;

¹⁵Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:

¹⁶Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.

¹⁷There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.

¹⁸There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.

¹⁹The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.

²⁰Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;

²¹Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;

²²Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?

²³Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?

²⁴For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.

²⁵For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

²⁶I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.