Log inSign up

Job 3 · a question people ask

Did Job curse God, as Satan said he would?

In the text

The chapter says what Job cursed: "After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day of his birth" (3:1). Satan had said, "he will renounce you to your face" (1:11, 2:5), and in Hebrew that renounce is barakh; 3:1's cursed is another verb, qalal (tap cursed). In this chapter Job speaks of God twice, and neither time curses him: "Don’t let God from above seek for it" (3:4), and "a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in" (3:23). Whether anything Job says in this chapter is wrong, the chapter itself doesn't say (see the next question).

The verses

“After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day of his birth.”
Job 3:1 · World English Bible
“But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will renounce you to your face.””
Job 1:11 · World English Bible
“But stretch out your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce you to your face.””
Job 2:5 · World English Bible
“Let that day be darkness. Don’t let God from above seek for it, neither let the light shine on it.”
Job 3:4 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Job 3

Job 3: Let the day perish

Job's last line is made of the words of the rest he pictures in 3:13-17. In Hebrew, 3:26's quiet is 3:13's, its rest is 3:13's and 3:17's, and its trouble is the troubling that ceases in 3:17: "neither do I have rest; but trouble comes" (3:26).

In Favor, questions like this come up right where they arise as you read, with the Hebrew and Greek behind the words and how the chapter leads to Jesus.

Start your free weekJob 3 Bible study

First week free, then $10 a month per person

More questions about Job 3

All questions about Job →

The best way to learn the Bible

Favor opens up every chapter as you read.

Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.

  • Every chapter explains itself

    As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.

  • The Hebrew and Greek behind it

    Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.

  • Every page leads to Jesus

    Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.

  • Better together

    Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.

  1. 1

    Start your free week

    Sign up in a minute with your email.

  2. 2

    Read a few minutes a day

    Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.

  3. 3

    Bring your people, if you like

    Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.

Start your free week

First week free, then $10 a month per person

Questions like this, in every chapter

The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.

There's a seat for you at the table.

Start your free week

First week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions