The Book of JOB - Chapter Three

 

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

2 He said:

3 

‘May the day of my birth perish,
    and the night that said, “A boy is conceived!”

4 

That day – may it turn to darkness;
    may God above not care about it;
    may no light shine on it.

5 

May gloom and utter darkness claim it once more;
    may a cloud settle over it;
    may blackness overwhelm it.

6 

That night – may thick darkness seize it;
    may it not be included among the days of the year
    nor be entered in any of the months.

7 

May that night be barren;
    may no shout of joy be heard in it.

8 

May those who curse days curse that day,
    those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.

9 

May its morning stars become dark;
    may it wait for daylight in vain
    and not see the first rays of dawn,

10 

for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
    to hide trouble from my eyes.

11 

‘Why did I not perish at birth,
    and die as I came from the womb?

12 

Why were there knees to receive me
    and breasts that I might be nursed?

13 

For now I would be lying down in peace;
    I would be asleep and at rest

14 

with kings and rulers of the earth,
    who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,

15 

with princes who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.

16 

Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,
    like an infant who never saw the light of day?

17 

There the wicked cease from turmoil,
    and there the weary are at rest.

18 

Captives also enjoy their ease;
    they no longer hear the slave driver’s shout.

19 

The small and the great are there,
    and the slaves are freed from their owners.

20 

‘Why is light given to those in misery,
    and life to the bitter of soul,

21 

to those who long for death that does not come,
    who search for it more than for hidden treasure,

22 

who are filled with gladness
    and rejoice when they reach the grave?

23 

Why is life given to a man
    whose way is hidden,
    whom God has hedged in?

24 

For sighing has become my daily food;
    my groans pour out like water.

25 

What I feared has come upon me;
    what I dreaded has happened to me.

26 

I have no peace, no quietness;
    I have no rest, but only turmoil.’

-=-=-=-=-
READINGS

The Book Of JOB

Chapter Three

Read by David Suchet

-=-=-=-

OVERVIEW 

The Book Of JOB

Overview

(The Bible Project)

-=-=-=-=-

STUDIES 

The Book Of JOB

David Pawson

-=-=-=-=-

-=-=-=-=-

-=-=-=-

 

 

 

 

The Book of JOB - Chapter Two

1 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’

Satan answered the Lord, ‘From roaming throughout the earth, going to and fro on it.’

3 Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.’

4 ‘Skin for skin!’ Satan replied. ‘A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.’

6 The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.’

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

9 His wife said to him, ‘Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!’

10 He replied, ‘You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathise with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognise him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

-=-=-=-=-
READINGS

The Book Of JOB

Chapter Two

Read by David Suchet

-=-=-=-

OVERVIEW 

The Book Of JOB

Overview

(The Bible Project)

-=-=-=-=-

STUDIES 

The Book Of JOB

David Pawson

-=-=-=-=-

Job: When the Righteous Suffer - John Piper

Part 1

Part 2

-=-=-=-=-

-=-=-=-