Job 3 (KJV)

26 verses · King James Version · Formal equivalence (word-for-word)

The King James Version is the most influential English Bible translation in history. Commissioned by King James I and completed in 1611, it shaped the English language itself. Its majestic prose and formal accuracy make it beloved for memorization and liturgical use.

Job Chapter 3 contains 26 verses and is presented here in the King James Version (KJV), which uses a formal equivalence (word-for-word) approach. Read the full text below, compare with other translations, or navigate to any of the 42 chapters in Job.

NIVESVNLTMSGNASB
Chapter 2Chapter 4

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

2And Job spake, and said, <sup>spake: Heb. answered</sup>

3Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.

4Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

5Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. <sup>stain: or, challenge</sup> <sup>let the: or, let them terrify it, as those who have a bitter day</sup>

6As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. <sup>let it not be: or, let it not rejoice among the days</sup>

7Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.

8Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. <sup>their: or, leviathan</sup>

9Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: <sup>the dawning: Heb. the eyelids of the morning</sup>

10Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

11Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?

12Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?

13For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

14With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;

15Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:

16Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.

17There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. <sup>weary: Heb. wearied in strength</sup>

18There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.

19The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.

20Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;

21Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; <sup>long: Heb. wait</sup>

22Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?

23Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?

24For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. <sup>I eat: Heb. my meat</sup>

25For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. <sup>the thing: Heb. I feared a fear, and it came upon me</sup>

26I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

Chapter 2Read in NIVChapter 4

About This Translation

What is Job 3 in the KJV?

Job 3 in the King James Version (KJV) contains 26 verses. The KJV uses a formal equivalence (word-for-word) approach, first published in 1611.

How does the KJV translate Job 3 differently?

The King James Version uses formal equivalence (word-for-word), preserving the classic English of 1611. Compare this with the NIV (dynamic equivalence) version of Job 3 for a different perspective.

How many verses are in Job 3 (KJV)?

Job Chapter 3 contains 26 verses in the King James Version. The book of Job has 42 chapters total.

Job (KJV) — All 42 Chapters