the Second Week after Easter
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King James Version
Job 3:8
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Let those who curse dayscondemn it,those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.
Let them curse it who curse the day, Who are ready to rouse up livyatan.
Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.
Let those who curse days curse that day. Let them prepare to wake up the sea monster Leviathan.
Let those who curse the day curse it— those who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.
"Let those curse it who curse the day, Who are skilled in rousing up Leviathan.
"May those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to disturb Leviathan.
Let them curse it who curse the day, Who are ready to rouse up leviathan.
Let them that curse the day, (being readie to renue their mourning) curse it.
Let those curse it who curse the day,Who are ready to rouse Leviathan.
May it be cursed by those who curse the day-those prepared to rouse Leviathan.
Let those with magic powers place a curse on that day.
may the stars of its twilight be dark, may it look for light but get none, may it never see the shimmer of dawn —
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to rouse Leviathan;
Some magicians think they can wake Leviathan. So let them say their curses and curse the day I was born.
Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to stir up Leviathan.
Tell the sorcerers to curse that day, those who know how to control Leviathan.
Let those who curse the day curse it, those who are skilled at rousing Leviathan.
Let those curse it who curse the day, those ready to stir up Leviathan.
geue it their curse also, euen those that be ready to rayse vp Leuiathan.
Let them curse it that curse the day, Who are ready to rouse up leviathan.
Let it be cursed by those who put a curse on the day; who are ready to make Leviathan awake.
Let them that curse the day, and that be redy to rayse vp mourning, geue it also their curse.
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to rouse up leviathan.
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise vp their mourning.
But let him that curses that day curse it, even he that is ready to attack the great whale.
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to rouse up leviathan.
Curse thei it, that cursen the dai, that ben redi to reise Leuyathan.
Let them curse it that curse the day, Who are ready to rouse up leviathan.
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
May those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan.
Let those who are experts at cursing— whose cursing could rouse Leviathan— curse that day.
Let those curse it who curse the day, who are able to wake up the Leviathan.
Let those curse it who curse the Sea, those who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan.
Let day-cursers denounce it, Those skilled in rousing the dragon of the sky:
Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to raise up a leviathan:
Let those curse it who curse the day, who are skilled to rouse up Levi'athan.
Let the cursers of day mark it, Who are ready to wake up Leviathan.
"Let those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
who are ready: 2 Chronicles 35:25, Jeremiah 9:17, Jeremiah 9:18, Amos 5:16, Matthew 11:17, Mark 5:38
their mourning: or, a leviathan, Job 41:1, Job 41:10
Reciprocal: Psalms 74:14 - leviathan Psalms 104:26 - leviathan
Cross-References
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?
Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Let them curse it that curse the day,.... Their own day, either their birthday, or any day on which evil befalls them; and now such as are used to this, Job would have them, while they were cursing their own day, to throw some curses upon his; or that curse the daylight in general, as adulterers and murderers, who are said to rebel against the light, see Job 24:13; and as some Ethiopians, who lived near Arabia, and so known to Job, who supposed there was no God, and used to curse the sun when it rose and set, as various writers relate g, called by others h Atlantes; or it may design such persons who were hired at funerals, to mourn for the dead, and who, in their doleful ditties and dirges, used to curse the day on which the person was born whom they lamented; or it may be rather the day on which he died; hence it follows:
who are ready to raise up their mourning; who were expert at the business, and who could raise up a howl, as the Irish now do, or make a lamentation for the dead when they pleased; such were the mourning women in Jeremiah 9:17; and those that were skilful of lamentation, Amos 5:16; some render the words, "who are ready to raise up Leviathan" i, and interpret it either of the whale, which, when raised up by the fishermen, they are in danger of their vessels being overturned, and their lives lost, and then they curse the day that ever they entered into such service, and exposed themselves to such danger; or of fish in general, and of fishermen cursing and swearing when they are unsuccessful: some understand this of astrologers, magicians, and enchanters, raising spirits, and particularly the devil, who they think is meant by Leviathan; but it seems best with a little alteration from Gussetius, and Schultens after him, to render the words thus,
"let the cursers of the day fix a name upon it; let those that are ready "to anything, call it" the raiser up of Leviathan;''
that is, let such who either of themselves are used to curse days, or are employed by others to do it, brand this night with some mark of infamy; let them ascribe all dreadful calamities and dismal things unto it, as the source and spring of them; which may be signified by Leviathan, that being a creature most formidable and terrible, of which an account is given in the latter part of this book; but many Jewish writers k render it "mourning", as we do.
g Diodor. Sic. l. 3. p. 148. Strabo, Geograph. l. 17. P. 565. h Herodot. Melpomene, sive, l. 4. c. 184. Mela de Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 8. Solin. Polyhistor, c. 44. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 8. i לויתן "Leviathanem", Schmidt, Michaelis. Mr. Broughton renders the words, "who hunt Leviathan." k Vid. Aben Ezram & Gersom in loc. R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 1. 1. Aruch in voce לוית. So the word is used, T. Hieros. Moed Katon, fol. 80. 4.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Let them curse it who curse the day - This entire verse is exceedingly difficult, and many different expositions have been given of it. It seems evident that it refers to some well-known class of persons, who were accustomed to utter imprecations, and were supposed to have the power to render a day propitious or unpropitious - persons who had the power of divination or enchantment. A belief in such a power existed early in the world, and has prevailed in all savage and semi-barbarous nations, and even in nations considerably advanced in civilization. The origin of this was a desire to look into futurity; and in order to accomplish this, a league was supposed to be made with the spirits of the dead, who were acquainted with the events of the invisible world, and who could be prevailed on to impart their knowledge to favored mortals. It was supposed, also, that by such union there might be a power exerted which would appear to be miraculous.
Such persons also claimed to be the favorites of heaven, and to be endowed with control over the elements, and over the destiny of men; to have the power to bless and to curse, to render propitious or calamitous. Balsaam was believed to be endowed with this power, and hence, he was sent for by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the Israelites; Numbers 22:5-6; see the notes at Isaiah 8:19. The practice of cursing the day, or cursing the sun, is said by Herodotus to have prevailed among a people of Africa, whom he calls the Atlantes, living in the vicinity of Mount Atlas. “Of all mankind,” says he, “of whom we have any knowledge, the Atlantes alone have no distinction of names; the body of the people are termed Atlantes, but their individuals have no appropriate appellation. When the sun is at the highest they heap on it reproaches and execrations, because their country and themselves are parched by its rays; book iv. 184. The same account of them is found in Pliny, Nat. His. v. 8: Solem orientem occidentemque dira imprecatione contuentur, ut exitialem ipsis agrisque. See also Strabo, Lib. xvii. p. 780. Some have supposed, also, that there may be an allusion here to a custom which seems early to have prevailed of hiring people to mourn for the dead, and who probably in their official lamentation bewailed or cursed the day of their calamity; compare Jer 9:17; 2 Chronicles 35:25. But the correct interpretation is doubtless that which refers it to pretended prophets, priests, or diviners - who were supposed to have power to render a day one of ill omen. Such a power Job wished exerted over that unhappy night when he was born. He desired that the curses of those who had power to render a day unpropitious or unlucky, should rest upon it.
Who are ready to raise up their mourning - This is not very intelligible, and it is evident that our translators were embarrassed by the passage. They seem to have supposed that there was an allusion here to the practice of employing professional mourners, and that the idea is, that Job wished that they might be employed to howl over the day as inauspicious, or as a day of ill omen. The margin is, as in the Hebrew, “a leviathan.” The word rendered “ready” עתידים ‛âthı̂ydı̂ym, means properly ready, prepared; and then practiced or skillful. This is the idea here, that they were practiced or skillful in calling up the “leviathan;” see Schultens “in loc.” The word rendered in the text “mourning,” and in the margin “leviathan” לויתן lı̂vyâthân, in all other parts of the sacred Scriptures denotes an animal; see it explained in the notes at Isaiah 27:1, and more fully in the notes at Job 41:0: It usually denotes the crocodile, or some huge sea monster.
Here it is evidently used to represent the most fierce, powerful and frightful of all the animals known, and the allusion is to some power claimed by necromancers to call forth the most terrific monsters at their will from distant places, from the “vasty deep,” from morasses and impenetrable forests. The general claim was, that they had control over all nature; that they could curse the day, and make it of ill omen, and that the most mighty and terrible of land or sea monsters were entirely under their control. If they had such a power, Job wished that they would exercise it to curse the night in which he was born. On what pretensions they founded this claim is unknown. The power, however, of taming serpents, is practiced in India at this day; and jugglers bear around with them the most deadly of the serpent race, having extracted their fangs, and creating among the credulous the belief that they have control over the most noxious animals. Probably some such art was claimed by the ancients. and to some such pretension Job alludes here.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 3:8. Let them curse it that curse the day — This translation is scarcely intelligible. I have waded through a multitude of interpretations, without being able to collect from them such a notion of the verse as could appear to me probable. Schultens, Rosenmuller, and after them Mr. Good, have laboured much to make it plain. They think the custom of sorcerers who had execrations for peoples, places, things, days, c., is here referred to such as Balaam, Elymas, and many others were: but I cannot think that a man who knew the Divine Being and his sole government of the world so well as Job did, would make such an allusion, who must have known that such persons and their pretensions were impostors and execrable vanities. I shall give as near a translation as I can of the words, and subjoin a short paraphrase: יקבהו אררי יום העתידימערר לויתן yikkebuhu orerey yom haathidim orer livyathan; "Let them curse it who detest the day; them who are ready to raise up the leviathan." That is, Let them curse my birthday who hate daylight, such as adulterers, murderers, thieves, and banditti, for whose practices the night is more convenient; and let them curse it who, being like me weary of life, are desperate enough to provoke the leviathan, the crocodile, to tear them to pieces. This version is nearly the same as that given by Coverdale. Let them that curse the daye give it their curse also, then those that be ready to rayse up leviathan. By leviathan some understand the greatest and most imminent dangers; and others, the devil, whom the enchanters are desperate enough to attempt to raise by their incantations.
Calmet understands the whole to be spoken of the Atlantes, a people of Ethiopia, who curse the sun because it parches their fields and their bodies; and who fearlessly attack, kill, and eat the crocodile. This seems a good sense.
