Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.

JOB 3:8KJV
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Job 3:8 (KJV)

What does Job 3:8 mean?

Job 3:8 describes Job wishing that those who are skilled at cursing days—people who are ready to stir up deep sorrow—would curse the day of his birth. Job is expressing a deep desire for his birthday to be wiped out or marked by mourning, reflecting his intense grief and despair.

In this verse, Job is speaking out of his suffering after losing his family, health, and wealth. He calls on those who are known for their ability to pronounce powerful curses, possibly professional mourners or magicians, to curse the day he was born. This dramatic language shows just how deeply Job regrets his own existence at this moment, wishing that his birthday would be singled out for sorrow and darkness.

The Hebrew behind Job 3:8

  • "curse" (נָקַב, naqav): This word means to curse or invoke harm, and here it highlights Job’s wish for his birthday to be singled out for misfortune by those who are skilled in such things.
  • "curse" (אָרַר, arar): Another word for curse, often used for a solemn or serious curse. Its use here adds weight to Job’s plea, showing the seriousness of his lament.
  • "mourning" (לִוְיָתָן, livyatan): This word literally means "Leviathan," a mythical sea creature. In this context, it is often understood as a symbol of chaos or deep sorrow, suggesting that Job wants those who can "rouse Leviathan"—that is, summon great calamity or mourning—to curse his day.

Why Job 3:8 matters

  • Job 3:8 clears up that Job’s words are not just casual complaints but a poetic and intense expression of his suffering, using imagery familiar to ancient listeners.
  • The verse connects Job’s personal pain to larger themes of chaos and darkness, using the idea of "Leviathan" to represent forces beyond human control.
  • Understanding the original words for "curse" and "Leviathan" helps readers see how Job’s lament is both deeply personal and rooted in the symbolic language of his culture.

Where else these words appear

“mourning” Hebrew H3882 · used in 5 verses

  • Job 41:1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
  • Psalms 74:14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
  • Psalms 104:26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

“ready” Hebrew H6264 · used in 6 verses

  • Deuteronomy 32:35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
  • Esther 3:14 The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day.
  • Job 15:24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.

“curse” Hebrew H5344 · used in 24 verses

  • Genesis 30:28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
  • 2 Kings 18:21 Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
  • Job 41:2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?

“curse” Hebrew H779 · used in 52 verses

  • Genesis 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
  • Numbers 24:9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
  • Joshua 6:26 And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.