Job Chapter 3
King James Version (KJV)
Other Translations
asv (asv) - eBible.org engASV USFM
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So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
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After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
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And Job answered and said:
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Let the day perish wherein I was born,
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And the night which said, There is a man-child conceived.
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Let that day be darkness;
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Let not God from above seek for it,
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Neither let the light shine upon it.
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Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it for their own;
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Let a cloud dwell upon it;
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Let all that maketh black the day terrify it.
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As for that night, let thick darkness seize upon it:
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Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
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Let it not come into the number of the months.
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Lo, let that night be barren;
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Let no joyful voice come therein.
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Let them curse it that curse the day,
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Who are ready to rouse up leviathan.
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Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark:
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Let it look for light, but have none;
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Neither let it behold the eyelids of the morning:
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Because it shut not up the doors of my
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mother’s womb,
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Nor hid trouble from mine eyes.
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Why died I not from the womb?
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Why did I not give up the ghost when my mother bare me?
darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext
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After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.
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And Job answered and said,
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Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night that said, There is a man child conceived.
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That day — let it be darkness, let notGod care for it from above, neither let light shine upon it:
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Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it; let clouds dwell upon it; let darkeners of the day terrify it.
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That night — let gloom seize upon it; let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months.
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Behold, let that night be barren; let no joyful sound come therein;
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Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to rouse Leviathan;
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Let the stars of its twilight be dark; let it wait for light, and have none, neither let it see the eyelids of the dawn:
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Because it shut not up the doors of the womb that bore me, and hid not trouble from mine eyes.
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Wherefore did I not die from the womb, — come forth from the belly and expire?
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Why did the knees meet me? and wherefore the breasts, that I should suck?
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For now should I have lain down and been quiet; I should have slept: then had I been at rest,
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With kings and counsellors of the earth, who build desolate places for themselves,
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Or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver;
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Or as a hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants that have not seen the light.
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There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the wearied are at rest.
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The prisoners together are at ease; they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.
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The small and great are there, and the bondman freed from his master.
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Wherefore is light given to him that is in trouble, and life to those bitter of soul,
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Who long for death, and it [cometh] not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures;
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Who rejoice even exultingly and are glad when they find the grave? —
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To the man whose way is hidden, and whomGod hath hedged in?
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For my sighing cometh before my bread, and my groanings are poured out like the waters.
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For I feared a fear, and it hath come upon me, and that which I dreaded hath come to me.
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I was not in safety, neither had I quietness, neither was I at rest, and trouble came.
lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM
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After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day,
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saying,
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Let the day perish in which I was born, and that night in which they said, Behold a man-child!
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Let that night be darkness, and let not the Lord regard it from above, neither let light come upon it.
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But let darkness and the shadow of death seize it; let blackness come upon it;
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let that day and night be cursed, let darkness carry them away; let it not come into the days of the year, neither let it be numbered with the days of the months.
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But let that night be pain, and let not mirth come upon it, nor joy.
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But let him that curses that day curse it, [even] he that is ready to attack the great whale.
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Let the stars of that night be darkened; let it remain [dark], and not come into light; and let it not see the morning star arise:
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because it shut not up the gates of my mother's womb, for [so] it would have removed sorrow from my eyes.
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For why died I not in the belly? and [why] did I not come forth from the womb and die immediately?
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And why did the knees support me? and why did I suck the breasts?
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Now I should have lain down and been quiet, I should have slept and been at rest,
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with kings [and] councillors of the earth, who gloried in [their] swords;
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or with rulers, whose gold was abundant, who filled their houses with silver:
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or [I should have been] as an untimely birth proceeding from his mother's womb, or as infants who never saw light.
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There the ungodly have burnt out the fury of rage; there the wearied in body rest.
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And the men of old time have together ceased to hear the exactor's voice.
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The small and great are there, and the servant that feared his lord.
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For why is light given to those who are in bitterness, and life to the souls which are in griefs?
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who desire death, and obtain it not, digging [for it] as [for] treasures;
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and would be very joyful if they should gain it?
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Death [is] rest to [such] a man, for God has hedged him in.
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For my groaning comes before my food, and I weep being beset with terror.
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For the terror of which I meditated has come upon me, and that which I had feared has befallen me.
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I was not at peace, nor quiet, nor had I rest; yet wrath came upon me.
vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)
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Post hæc aperuit Iob os suum, et maledixit diei suo,
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et locutus est.
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Pereat dies in qua natus sum, et nox in qua dictum est: Conceptus est homo.
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Dies ille vertatur in tenebras, non requirat eum Deus desuper, et non illustretur lumine.
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Obscurent eum tenebræ et umbra mortis, occupet eum caligo, et involvatur amaritudine.
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Noctem illam tenebrosus turbo possideat, non computetur in diebus anni, nec numeretur in mensibus:
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Sit nox illa solitaria, nec laude digna:
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Maledicant ei qui maledicunt diei, qui parati sunt suscitare Leviathan:
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Obtenebrentur stellæ caligine eius: expectet lucem et non videat, nec ortum surgentis auroræ:
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Quia non conclusit ostia ventris, qui portavit me, nec abstulit mala ab oculis meis.
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Quare non in vulva mortuus sum, egressus ex utero non statim perii?
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Quare exceptus genibus? cur lactatus uberibus?
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Nunc enim dormiens silerem, et somno meo requiescerem:
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Cum regibus et consulibus terræ, qui ædificant sibi solitudines:
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Aut cum principibus, qui possident aurum, et replent domos suas argento:
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Aut sicut abortivum absconditum non subsisterem, vel qui concepti non viderunt lucem.
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Ibi impii cessaverunt a tumultu, et ibi requieverunt fessi robore.
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Et quondam vincti pariter sine molestia, non audierunt vocem exactoris.
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Parvus et magnus ibi sunt, et servus liber a domino suo.
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Quare misero data est lux, et vita his, qui in amaritudine animæ sunt?
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qui expectant mortem, et non venit, quasi effodientes thesaurum:
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Gaudentque vehementer cum invenerint sepulchrum.
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Viro cuius abscondita est via, et circumdedit eum Deus tenebris?
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Antequam comedam suspiro: et tamquam inundantes aquæ, sic rugitus meus:
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Quia timor, quem timebam, evenit mihi: et quod verebar accidit.
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Nonne dissimulavi? nonne silui? nonne quievi? et venit super me indignatio.
web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV
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After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day of his birth.
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Job answered:
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“Let the day perish in which I was born, the night which said, ‘There is a boy conceived.’
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Let that day be darkness. Don’t let God from above seek for it, neither let the light shine on it.
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Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it for their own. Let a cloud dwell on it. Let all that makes the day black terrify it.
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As for that night, let thick darkness seize on it. Let it not rejoice among the days of the year. Let it not come into the number of the months.
7
Behold, let that night be barren. Let no joyful voice come therein.
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Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up leviathan.
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Let the stars of its twilight be dark. Let it look for light, but have none, neither let it see the eyelids of the morning,
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because it didn’t shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor did it hide trouble from my eyes.
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“Why didn’t I die from the womb? Why didn’t I give up the spirit when my mother bore me?
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Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breast, that I should nurse?
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For now I should have lain down and been quiet. I should have slept, then I would have been at rest,
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with kings and counselors of the earth, who built up waste places for themselves;
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or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver;
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or as a hidden untimely birth I had not been, as infants who never saw light.
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There the wicked cease from troubling. There the weary are at rest.
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There the prisoners are at ease together. They don’t hear the voice of the taskmaster.
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The small and the great are there. The servant is free from his master.
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“Why is light given to him who is in misery, life to the bitter in soul,
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who long for death, but it doesn’t come; and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,
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who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?
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Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?
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For my sighing comes before I eat. My groanings are poured out like water.
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For the thing which I fear comes on me, that which I am afraid of comes to me.
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I am not at ease, neither am I quiet, neither do I have rest; but trouble comes.”
ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8
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After this hath Job opened his mouth, and revileth his day.
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And Job answereth and saith: --
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Let the day perish in which I am born, And the night that hath said: `A man-child hath been conceived.'
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That day--let it be darkness, Let not God require it from above, Nor let light shine upon it.
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Let darkness and death-shade redeem it, Let a cloud tabernacle upon it, Let them terrify it as the most bitter of days.
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That night--let thick darkness take it, Let it not be united to days of the year, Into the number of months let it not come.
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Lo! that night--let it be gloomy, Let no singing come into it.
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Let the cursers of day mark it, Who are ready to wake up Leviathan.
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Let the stars of its twilight be dark, Let it wait for light, and there is none, And let it not look on the eyelids of the dawn.
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Because it hath not shut the doors Of the womb that was mine! And hide misery from mine eyes.
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Why from the womb do I not die? From the belly I have come forth and gasp!
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Wherefore have knees been before me? And what <FI>are<Fi> breasts, that I suck?
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For now, I have lain down, and am quiet, I have slept--then there is rest to me,
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With kings and counsellors of earth, These building wastes for themselves.
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Or with princes--they have gold, They are filling their houses <FI>with<Fi> silver.
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(Or as a hidden abortion I am not, As infants--they have not seen light.)
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There the wicked have ceased troubling, And there rest do the wearied in power.
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Together prisoners have been at ease, They have not heard the voice of an exactor,
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Small and great <FI>are<Fi> there the same. And a servant <FI>is<Fi> free from his lord.
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Why giveth He to the miserable light, and life to the bitter soul?
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Who are waiting for death, and it is not, And they seek it above hid treasures.
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Who are glad--unto joy, They rejoice when they find a grave.
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To a man whose way hath been hidden, And whom God doth shut up?
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For before my food, my sighing cometh, And poured out as waters <FI>are<Fi> my roarings.
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For a fear I feared and it meeteth me, And what I was afraid of doth come to me.
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I was not safe--nor was I quiet--Nor was I at rest--and trouble cometh!
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).