Job 30
1 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
But now those who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 Yea, whereto [should] the strength of their hands [profit] me, [men] in whom vigour hath perished?
Yea, the strength of their hands, to what should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished.
3 Withered up through want and hunger, they flee into waste places long since desolate and desert:
They are gaunt with want and famine. They gnaw the dry ground in the gloom of waste and desolation.
4 They gather the salt-wort among the bushes, and the roots of the broom for their food.
They pluck mallows by the bushes, and the roots of the juniper are their food.
5 They are driven forth from among [men] — they cry after them as after a thief —
They are driven forth from the midst of men. They cry out after them as after a thief,
6 To dwell in gloomy gorges, in caves of the earth and the rocks:
so that they dwell in frightful valleys, in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 They bray among the bushes; under the brambles they are gathered together:
Among the bushes they bray, under the nettles they are gathered together.
8 Sons of fools, and sons of nameless sires, they are driven out of the land.
They are sons of fools, yea, sons of base men. They were scourged out of the land.
9 And now I am their song, yea, I am their byword.
And now I have become their song, Yea, I am a byword to them.
10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, yea, they spare not to spit in my face.
They abhor me. They stand aloof from me, and do not spare to spit in my face.
11 For he hath loosed my cord and afflicted me; so they cast off the bridle before me.
For he has loosed his cord, and afflicted me. And they have cast off the bridle before me.
12 At [my] right hand rise the young brood; they push away my feet, and raise up against me their pernicious ways;
Upon my right hand rise the rabble. They thrust aside my feet, and they cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, without any to help them;
They mar my path. They set forward my calamity, even men who have no helper.
14 They come in as through a wide breach: amid the confusion they roll themselves onward.
As through a wide breach they come. In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves upon me.
15 Terrors are turned against me; they pursue mine honour as the wind; and my welfare is passed away like a cloud.
Terrors are turned upon me. They chase my honor as the wind, and my welfare is passed away as a cloud.
16 And now my soul is poured out in me; days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
And now my soul is poured out within me. Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
17 The night pierceth through my bones [and detacheth them] from me, and my gnawing pains take no rest:
In the night season my bones are pierced in me, and the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
18 By their great force they have become my raiment; they bind me about as the collar of my coat.
By the great force my garment is disfigured. It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
19 He hath cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes.
He has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry unto thee, and thou answerest me not; I stand up, and thou lookest at me.
I cry to thee, and thou do not answer me. I stand up, and thou gaze at me.
21 Thou art changed to a cruel one to me; with the strength of thy hand thou pursuest me.
Thou have turned to be cruel to me. With the might of thy hand thou persecute me.
22 Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to be borne away, and dissolvest my substance.
Thou lift me up to the wind. Thou cause me to ride upon it, and thou disintegrate me in the storm.
23 For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and into the house of assemblage for all living.
For I know that thou will bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.
24 Indeed, no prayer [availeth] when he stretcheth out [his] hand: though they cry when he destroyeth.
However does not a man stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
25 Did not I weep for him whose days were hard? was not my soul grieved for the needy?
Did I not weep for him who was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26 For I expected good, and there came evil; and I waited for light, but there came darkness.
When I looked for good, then evil came. And when I waited for light, there came darkness.
27 My bowels well up, and rest not; days of affliction have confronted me.
My heart is troubled, and does not rest. Days of affliction have come upon me.
28 I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up, I cry in the congregation.
I go mourning without the sun. I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
29 I am become a brother to jackals, and a companion of ostriches.
I am a brother to jackals, and a companion to ostriches.
30 My skin is become black [and falleth] off me, and my bones are parched with heat.
My skin is black, and falls from me. And my bones are burned with heat.
31 My harp also is [turned] to mourning, and my pipe into the voice of weepers.
Therefore my harp has turned to mourning, and my pipe into the voice of those who weep.
