Job 3:11-19

International Children’s Bible

¹¹ “Why didn’t I die as soon as I was born?
    Why didn’t I die when I came out of the womb?
¹² Why did my mother’s knees receive me?
    Why did my mother’s breasts feed me?
¹³ If they had not been there, I would be lying dead in peace.
    I would be asleep and at rest.
¹⁴ I would be asleep with kings and wise men of the earth.
    They built places for themselves that are now ruined.
¹⁵ I would be asleep with rulers who had gold.
    They filled their houses with silver!
¹⁶ Or why was I not buried like a child born dead?
    I wish I were like a baby who never saw the light of day.
¹⁷ In the grave the wicked stop causing trouble.
    And people who are tired are at rest.
¹⁸ In the grave there is rest for the captives.
    They no longer hear the shout of the slave driver.
¹⁹ People great and small are in the grave.
    And the slave is freed from his master.