Job 3 in the early church

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

“May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above disregard it; may no light shine upon it.

If only darkness had taken that night away! May it not appear among the days of the year; may it never be entered in any of the months.

May it be cursed by those who curse the day—those prepared to rouse Leviathan.

May its morning stars grow dark; may it wait in vain for daylight; may it not see the breaking of dawn.

Why did I not perish at birth; why did I not die as I came from the womb?

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

with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves cities now in ruins,

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

There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary find rest.

The captives enjoy their ease; they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.

Both small and great are there, and the slave is freed from his master.

Why is light given to the miserable, and life to the bitter of soul,

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

For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has befallen me.