Job 30
1 “But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to entrust with my sheep dogs.
But now they that are younger than I hold me in derision, Whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them?
Of what use to me would be even the strength of their hands, To whom old age is lost?
3 Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night.
By want and hunger they are famished; They gnaw the dry desert, The darkness of desolate wastes.
4 They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food.
They gather purslain among the bushes, And the root of the broom is their bread.
5 They were banished from among men, shouted down like thieves,
They are driven from the society of men; There is a cry after them as after a thief.
6 so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
They dwell in gloomy valleys, In caves of the earth and in rocks.
7 They cried out among the shrubs and huddled beneath the nettles.
They bray among the bushes; Under the brambles are they stretched out.
8 A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land.
An impious and low-born race, They are beaten out of the land.
9 And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.
And now I am become their song; Yea, I am their by-word!
10 They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
They abhor me, they stand aloof from me; They forbear not to spit before my face.
11 Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.
Yea, they let loose the reins, and humble me; They cast off the bridle before me.
12 The rabble arises at my right; they lay snares for my feet and build siege ramps against me.
On my right hand riseth up the brood; They thrust away my feet; They cast up against me their destructive ways.
13 They tear up my path; they profit from my destruction, with no one to restrain them.
They break up my path; They hasten my fall, —They who have no helper!
14 They advance as through a wide breach; through the ruins they keep rolling in.
They come upon me as through a wide breach; Through the ruins they rush in upon me.
15 Terrors are turned loose against me; they drive away my dignity as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed like a cloud.
Terrors are turned against me; They pursue my prosperity like the wind, And my welfare passeth away like a cloud.
16 And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction grip me.
And now my soul poureth itself out upon me; Days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never rest.
By night my bones are pierced; they are torn from me, And my gnawers take no rest.
18 With great force He grasps my garment; He seizes me by the collar of my tunic.
Through the violence of my disease is my garment changed; It bindeth me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
He hath cast me into the mire, And I am become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer; when I stand up, You merely look at me.
I call upon Thee, but thou dost not hear me; I stand up before thee, but thou regardest me not.
21 You have ruthlessly turned on me; You oppose me with Your strong hand.
Thou art become cruel to me; With thy strong hand dost thou lie in wait for me.
22 You snatch me up into the wind and drive me before it; You toss me about in the storm.
Thou liftest me up, and causest me to ride upon the wind; Thou meltest me away in the storm.
23 Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
I know that thou wilt bring me to death, To the place of assembly for all the living.
24 Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man when he cries for help in his distress.
When He stretcheth out his hand, prayer availeth nothing; When He bringeth destruction, vain is the cry for help.
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy?
Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness fell.
But when I looked for good, then evil came; When I looked for light, then came darkness.
27 I am churning within and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me.
My bowels boil, and have no rest; Days of anguish have come upon me.
28 I go about blackened, but not by the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
I am black, but not by the sun; I stand up, and utter my cries in the congregation.
29 I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of ostriches.
I am become a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.
30 My skin grows black and peels, and my bones burn with fever.
My skin is black, and falleth from me, And my bones burn with heat.
31 My harp is tuned to mourning and my flute to the sound of weeping.
My harp also is turned to mourning, And my pipe to notes of grief.
