Job 30
1 But now, those younger in years scorn me, whose fathers I would not have seen fit to place with the dogs of my flock,
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 the strength of whose hands was nothing to me, and they were considered unworthy of life itself.
Of what use to me would be even the strength of their hands, To whom old age is lost?
3 They were barren from poverty and hunger; they gnawed in solitude, layered with misfortune and misery.
By want and hunger they are famished; They gnaw the dry desert, The darkness of desolate wastes.
4 And they chewed grass and the bark from trees, and the root of junipers was their food.
They gather purslain among the bushes, And the root of the broom is their bread.
5 They took these things from the steep valleys, and when they discovered one of these things, they rushed to the others with a cry.
They are driven from the society of men; There is a cry after them as after a thief.
6 They lived in the parched desert and in caves underground or above the rocks.
They dwell in gloomy valleys, In caves of the earth and in rocks.
7 They rejoiced among these kinds of things, and they considered it delightful to be under thorns.
They bray among the bushes; Under the brambles are they stretched out.
8 These are the sons of foolish and base men, not even paying any attention to the land.
An impious and low-born race, They are beaten out of the land.
9 Now I become their song, and I have been made into their proverb.
And now I am become their song; Yea, I am their by-word!
10 They loathe me, and so they flee far from me, and they are not reluctant to spit in my face.
They abhor me, they stand aloof from me; They forbear not to spit before my face.
11 For he has opened his quiver and has afflicted me, and he has placed a bridle in my mouth.
Yea, they let loose the reins, and humble me; They cast off the bridle before me.
12 Immediately, upon rising, my calamities rise up to the right. They have overturned my feet and have pressed me down along their way like waves.
On my right hand riseth up the brood; They thrust away my feet; They cast up against me their destructive ways.
13 They have diverted my journeys; they have waited to ambush me, and they have prevailed, and there was no one who might bring help.
They break up my path; They hasten my fall, —They who have no helper!
14 They have rushed upon me, as when a wall is broken or a gate opened, and they have been pulled down into my miseries.
They come upon me as through a wide breach; Through the ruins they rush in upon me.
15 I have been reduced to nothing. You have taken away my desire like a wind, and my health has passed by like a cloud.
Terrors are turned against me; They pursue my prosperity like the wind, And my welfare passeth away like a cloud.
16 But now my soul withers within myself, and the days of affliction take hold of me.
And now my soul poureth itself out upon me; Days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 At night, my bone is pierced with sorrows, and those who feed on me, do not sleep.
By night my bones are pierced; they are torn from me, And my gnawers take no rest.
18 By the sheer number of them my clothing is worn away, and they have closed in on me like the collar of my coat.
Through the violence of my disease is my garment changed; It bindeth me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 I have been treated like dirt, and I have been turned into embers and ashes.
He hath cast me into the mire, And I am become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you, and you do not heed me. I stand up, and you do not look back 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 changed me into hardness, and, with the hardness of your hand, you oppose me.
Thou art become cruel to me; With thy strong hand dost thou lie in wait for me.
22 You have lifted me up, and, placing me as if on the wind, you have thrown me down powerfully.
Thou liftest me up, and causest me to ride upon the wind; Thou meltest me away in the storm.
23 I know that you will hand me over to death, where a home has been established for all the living.
I know that thou wilt bring me to death, To the place of assembly for all the living.
24 Truly, then, you do not extend your hand in order to consume them, and if they fall down, you will save them.
When He stretcheth out his hand, prayer availeth nothing; When He bringeth destruction, vain is the cry for help.
25 Once, I wept over him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor.
Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 I expected good things, but evil things have come to me. I stood ready for light, yet darkness burst forth.
But when I looked for good, then evil came; When I looked for light, then came darkness.
27 My insides have seethed, without any rest, for the days of affliction have prevented it.
My bowels boil, and have no rest; Days of anguish have come upon me.
28 I went forth mourning, without anger, and rising up, I cried out in confusion.
I am black, but not by the sun; I stand up, and utter my cries in the congregation.
29 I was the brother of snakes, and the companion of ostriches.
I am become a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.
30 My skin has become blackened over me, and my bones have dried up because of the heat.
My skin is black, and falleth from me, And my bones burn with heat.
31 My harp has been turned into mourning, and my pipes have been turned into a voice of weeping.
My harp also is turned to mourning, And my pipe to notes of grief.
