Job 3 8

Job 3:8 kjv

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

Job 3:8 nkjv

May those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan.

Job 3:8 niv

May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.

Job 3:8 esv

Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.

Job 3:8 nlt

Let those who are experts at cursing ?
whose cursing could rouse Leviathan ?
curse that day.

Job 3 verses

Job 3 8 Meaning

Job 3:8 is part of Job’s extended lament, expressing his profound despair. He wishes for the day of his birth to be obliterated from existence, desiring it to be plunged back into primeval chaos. He calls upon mythical or highly skilled individuals, often interpreted as sorcerers or practitioners of black magic, who possess the power to "curse" or "charm specific days into darkness or non-existence. His ultimate desire is for these figures to provoke Leviathan, a powerful, chaotic sea monster, symbolizing the undoing of creation and the re-establishment of cosmic disorder, thereby nullifying his own suffering existence.

Job 3 8 Context

Job chapter 3 marks a pivotal shift in the book of Job. After seven days of silent mourning with his friends (Job 2:13), Job finally breaks his silence not to curse God directly (as Satan had predicted), but to curse the very day of his birth. This entire chapter is a passionate and despairing lament, where Job wishes for non-existence, the undoing of his beginning, and a return to the oblivion from which he emerged. Verse 8 escalates this wish beyond mere personal desire to a cosmic appeal, invoking dark, chaotic forces. Historically and culturally, such invocations reflect an ancient world where magic, curses, and mythical creatures symbolizing cosmic forces were part of the belief landscape, although often challenged by Israelite monotheism. Job's wish here expresses the deepest possible rejection of his life, aspiring to an "un-creation" where his pain might cease.

Job 3 8 Word analysis

• Let them curse (יִקְּבֻהוּ, yikqᵊḇuhû): From the root קבב (qāḇaḇ), meaning to curse, revile, or denounce, often with the implication of piercing or marking. This is a strong, definitive curse, not just a casual swear. It implies a formal or potent imprecation.
• it that curse (אֹרְרֵי־יוֹם, ’ōrᵊrê-yōm): This specific phrase "cursers of the day" (or 'those who curse the day') refers to individuals who specialize in ritual cursing, necromancers, or those skilled in practices that could invoke darkness or misfortune upon a specific time. In ancient thought, certain people or spirits might have the power to influence cosmic events like the cycle of day and night, or the fortune of specific days. This might implicitly challenge the notion of God's sole sovereignty over time.
• who are ready to rouse (הַעֲתִידִים לְעוֹרֵר, ha‘ăṯîdîm lᵊ‘ô•rēr): "Ready" (עַתִּיד, ‘āṯîḏ) implies not just willingness but skill, preparedness, and perhaps professional expertise. "Rouse" (עוּר, ‘ûr) means to stir up, awaken, or incite. This suggests a powerful, deliberate act, akin to invoking a spirit or awakening a sleeping giant. It underlines the expertise and potentially dangerous power attributed to these individuals.
• Leviathan (לִוְיָתָן, Livyātān): A formidable, mythical sea monster mentioned in Job, Psalms, and Isaiah. In the Ancient Near East, large sea creatures often symbolized primeval chaos (ti'hom in Gen 1:2) and rebellion against divine order. In biblical literature, Leviathan represents an untamable, powerful, chaotic entity that only God can subdue or control (Psa 74:14, Isa 27:1, Job 41). Job’s wish to "rouse Leviathan" is an invocation for cosmic disorder, desiring that the structured world—which brought him suffering—revert to its primordial, chaotic state where his birth day, and thus his pain, might be erased.

Words-Group by words-group analysis

• Let them curse it that curse the day: This is an appeal to a specific group, likely those believed to have extraordinary power over time or fate, perhaps skilled enchanters, ritual magicians, or even figures from mythology who could disrupt natural order. Job's desperation leads him to invoke any force that might undo his cursed existence. It speaks to the extreme measures he wishes for to alleviate his suffering.
• who are ready to rouse Leviathan: This specifies the pinnacle of power and chaos that Job wishes to unleash. Invoking Leviathan is not merely wishing for death, but for cosmic de-creation. It implies a desire to undo the very act of creation (Gen 1), returning existence to a state of undifferentiated chaos where form and order are abolished, making his suffering cease through total annihilation of his moment of beginning. This goes beyond a personal curse; it’s a cry for cosmic unraveling.

Job 3 8 Bonus section

The imagery in Job 3:8 connects to Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) "chaoskampf" (struggle with chaos) myths, where divine beings battle sea monsters (like Baal vs. Yam, Marduk vs. Tiamat) to establish order in the cosmos. In the Bible, God is sovereignly presented as the one who effortlessly defeats such chaotic forces (Rahab, Leviathan) and establishes creation out of primeval disorder (Gen 1). Job's wish to "rouse Leviathan" can be seen as an ironic or desperate reversal of this motif – he desires that the foundational victory of order over chaos be undone for his own painful existence to be erased. This makes his lament cosmically significant, elevating his personal suffering to a challenge to the established order of the universe itself.

Job 3 8 Commentary

Job 3:8 is a stark illustration of Job's profound spiritual anguish. He longs for his birth day to be wiped out, wishing for cosmic forces that undo the order of creation itself to erase his painful existence. By calling upon those who "curse the day" and are "ready to rouse Leviathan," Job expresses a desire not merely for death, but for the fundamental reordering of reality back into primal chaos. This extreme wish is not an act of blasphemy against God directly, but an outcry against the very framework of a world that has permitted such suffering. His invocation of Leviathan, a biblical symbol of primordial chaos which only God truly controls, underscores the depth of his despair, wishing for the universe to unravel and consume his specific moment of beginning. It reveals the devastating impact of suffering, pushing one to long for un-creation.