Job Recalls His Former Glory

291 Job now resumed his response: 2 "Oh, how I long for the good old days, when God took such very good care of me. 3 He always held a lamp before me and I walked through the dark by its light. 4 Oh, how I miss those golden years when God's friendship graced my home, 5 When the Mighty One was still by my side and my children were all around me, 6 When everything was going my way, and nothing seemed too difficult.

7 "When I walked downtown and sat with my friends in the public square, 8 Young and old greeted me with respect; I was honored by everyone in town. 9 When I spoke, everyone listened; 10 they hung on my every word. 11 People who knew me spoke well of me; my reputation went ahead of me. 12 I was known for helping people in trouble and standing up for those who were down on their luck. 13 The dying blessed me, and the bereaved were cheered by my visits. 14 All my dealings with people were good. I was known for being fair to everyone I met. 15 I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame, 16 Father to the needy, and champion of abused aliens. 17 I grabbed street thieves by the scruff of the neck and made them give back what they'd stolen.

18 I thought, 'I'll die peacefully in my own bed, grateful for a long and full life, 19 A life deep-rooted and well-watered, a life limber and dew-fresh, 20 My soul suffused with glory and my body robust until the day I die.' 21 "Men and women listened when I spoke, hung expectantly on my every word. 22 After I spoke, they'd be quiet, taking it all in. 23 They welcomed my counsel like spring rain, drinking it all in. 24 When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it; their faces lit up, their troubles took wing! 25 I was their leader, establishing the mood and setting the pace by which they lived. Where I led, they followed.

Job Bewails His Birth

31 Then Job broke the silence. He spoke up and cursed his fate: 2  3 "Obliterate the day I was born. Blank out the night I was conceived! 4 Let it be a black hole in space. May God above forget it ever happened. Erase it from the books! 5 May the day of my birth be buried in deep darkness, shrouded by the fog, swallowed by the night. 6 And the night of my conception - the devil take it! Rip the date off the calendar, delete it from the almanac. 7 Oh, turn that night into pure nothingness - no sounds of pleasure from that night, ever! 8 May those who are good at cursing curse that day. Unleash the sea beast, Leviathan, on it. 9 May its morning stars turn to black cinders, waiting for a daylight that never comes, never once seeing the first light of dawn. 10 And why? Because it released me from my mother's womb into a life with so much trouble.

11 "Why didn't I die at birth, my first breath out of the womb my last? 12 Why were there arms to rock me, and breasts for me to drink from? 13 I could be resting in peace right now, asleep forever, feeling no pain, 14 In the company of kings and statesmen in their royal ruins, 15 Or with princes resplendent in their gold and silver tombs. 16 Why wasn't I stillborn and buried with all the babies who never saw light, 17 Where the wicked no longer trouble anyone and bone-weary people get a long-deserved rest? 18 Prisoners sleep undisturbed, never again to wake up to the bark of the guards. 19 The small and the great are equals in that place, and slaves are free from their masters.

20 "Why does God bother giving light to the miserable, why bother keeping bitter people alive, 21 Those who want in the worst way to die, and can't, who can't imagine anything better than death, 22 Who count the day of their death and burial the happiest day of their life? 23 What's the point of life when it doesn't make sense, when God blocks all the roads to meaning? 24 "Instead of bread I get groans for my supper, then leave the table and vomit my anguish. 25 The worst of my fears has come true, what I've dreaded most has happened. 26 My repose is shattered, my peace destroyed. No rest for me, ever - death has invaded life."