Job 3:8

Let those who curse the day ¹  curse it ²  – those who are prepared to rouse ³  Leviathan. ⁴ 

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

"Let those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.

Let those who are experts at cursing––those who are ready to rouse the sea monster ––curse that day.

May those who are good at cursing curse that day. Unleash the sea beast, Leviathan, on it.

Let it be cursed by those who put a curse on the day; who are ready to make Leviathan awake.

Let those curse it who curse the Sea, those who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan.

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

Let those who curse the day ¹  curse it ²  – those who are prepared to rouse ³  Leviathan. ⁴ 

¹ tn Not everyone is satisfied with the reading of the MT. Gordis thought “day” should be “sea,” and “cursers” should be “rousers” (changing ’alef to ’ayin; cf. NRSV). This is an unnecessary change, for there is no textual problem in the line (D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 71). Others have taken the reading “sea” as a personification and accepted the rest of the text, gaining the sense of “those whose magic binds even the sea monster of the deep” (e.g., NEB).

sn Those who curse the day are probably the professional enchanters and magicians who were thought to cast spells on days and overwhelm them with darkness and misfortune. The myths explained eclipses as the dragon throwing its folds around the sun and the moon, thus engulfing or swallowing the day and the night. This interpretation matches the parallelism better than the interpretation that says these are merely professional mourners.

² tn The verb is probably “execrate, curse,” from קָבַב (qavav). But E. Ullendorff took it from נָקַב (naqav, “pierce”) and gained a reading “Let the light rays of day pierce it (i.e. the night) apt even to rouse Leviathan” (“Job 3:8,” VT 11 [1961]: 350-51).

³ tn The verbal adjective עָתִיד (’atid) means “ready, prepared.” Here it has a substantival use similar to that of participles. It is followed by the Polel infinitive construct עֹרֵר (’orer). The infinitive without the preposition serves as the object of the preceding verbal adjective (GKC 350 §114.m).

⁴ sn Job employs here the mythological figure Leviathan, the monster of the deep or chaos. Job wishes that such a creation of chaos could be summoned by the mourners to swallow up that day. See E. Ullendorff, “Job 3:8,” VT 11 (1961): 350-51.