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 men who are younger than I am make fun of me— men whose fathers I greatly despised, with the result that I would not even have allowed them to help my dogs guard my sheep.
2 What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them?
They were men who were old and (weak/worn out); so (what could I gain from them working for me?/I would have gained nothing from them working for me.) [RHQ]
3 Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night.
They were very poor and hungry, with the result that they chewed on roots [at night] in dry and desolate places.
4 They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food.
They pulled up plants in the desert [and ate them] and warmed themselves by [burning] the roots of broom trees.
5 They were banished from among men, shouted down like thieves,
Everyone shouted at them as though they were thieves and expelled them [from their areas].
6 so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
They were forced to live in caves in the hills, in holes in the ground, and in the sides of cliffs.
7 They cried out among the shrubs and huddled beneath the nettles.
In the bushes they howled [like animals because they were hungry], and they huddled together under thornbushes.
8 A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land.
They were people without good sense, whose names no one knows; they have been expelled from the land [where they were born].
9 And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.
“And now their [children] sing songs to make fun of me. They tell jokes about me.
10 They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
They are disgusted with me, and they [usually] stay away from me, [but when they see me, ] they are happy to spit in my face.
11 Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.
Because [it is as though] [MET] God has cut my bowstring, [he has caused me to be unable to defend myself, ] and he has humbled me, and my enemies have done to me whatever they wanted.
12 The rabble arises at my right; they lay snares for my feet and build siege ramps against me.
(Gangs/Groups of violent youths) attack me and force me to run away; they prepare to destroy me.
13 They tear up my path; they profit from my destruction, with no one to restrain them.
They prevent me from escaping, and they [do] not [need] anyone to help them (OR, there is no one to help me).
14 They advance as through a wide breach; through the ruins they keep rolling in.
[It is as though I am a city wall and] [SIM] they have broken through the wall, and they have come crashing down on 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.
I am very terrified; My dignity/honor has been taken away as though [SIM] [it has been] blown away by the wind, and my prosperity has disappeared like [SIM] clouds disappear.
16 And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction grip me.
“And now I [SYN] am about to die [IDM]; I suffer every day.
17 Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never rest.
My bones ache during the night, and the pain that torments me never stops.
18 With great force He grasps my garment; He seizes me by the collar of my tunic.
[It is as though God] seizes my clothes and chokes me with the collar of my coat.
19 He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
He has thrown me into the mud; I am [not worth anything more than] 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 cry out to God, but he does not answer/help me; I stand up [and pray], but he does not pay any attention.
21 You have ruthlessly turned on me; You oppose me with Your strong hand.
He acts very cruelly toward me; with all of his power [MTY] he causes me to suffer.
22 You snatch me up into the wind and drive me before it; You toss me about in the storm.
He [allows] the wind to lift me up and blow me away, and he tosses me up and down in a violent storm.
23 Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
I know that he will cause me to die, which is what happens to everyone [MTY] who is alive.
24 Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man when he cries for help in his distress.
“When people experience disasters, and they sit on a pile of ruins and cry out for help, others surely [RHQ] reach out their hand to help them.
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy?
[That is what I did previously]. I wept for people who were experiencing troubles, and I felt sorry for poor/needy people.
26 But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness fell.
But when I expected good things [to happen to me], evil things happened; when I waited for light/happiness, all I experienced was darkness/unhappiness [MET].
27 I am churning within and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me.
I am very distressed [IDM], all the time; I suffer every day.
28 I go about blackened, but not by the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
I go about very discouraged; I stand up and plead for people to help me.
29 I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of ostriches.
My wailing sounds as sad as [MET] the cries of jackals/foxes and ostriches.
30 My skin grows black and peels, and my bones burn with fever.
My skin has become dark/black and is peeling off, and I have a fever [which causes my body to feel like it is] burning.
31 My harp is tuned to mourning and my flute to the sound of weeping.
Previously, I played joyful music on my harp and with my flute, but now I play only the sad music of those who mourn.”
