< Job 30 >

1 But now the younger in time scorn me, whose fathers I would not have set with the dogs of my flock:
“And now, laughed at me, Have the younger in days than I, Whose fathers I have loathed to set With the dogs of my flock.
2 The strength of whose hands was to me as nothing, and they were thought unworthy of life itself.
Also—the power of their hands, why [is it] to me? On them old age has perished.
3 Barren with want and hunger, who gnawed in the wilderness, disfigured with calamity and misery.
With want and with harsh famine, They are gnawing a dry place [in] the recent night, [In] desolation and ruin,
4 And they ate grass, and barks of trees, and the root of junipers was their food.
Those cropping mallows near a shrub, And their food [is] root of broom trees.
5 Who snatched up these things out of the valleys, and when they had found any of them, they ran to them with a cry.
They are cast out from the midst (They shout against them as a thief),
6 They dwelt in the desert places of torrents, and in caves of earth, or upon the gravel.
To dwell in a frightful place of valleys, Holes of earth and clefts.
7 They pleased themselves among these kind of things, and counted it delightful to be under the briers.
They groan among shrubs, They are gathered together under nettles.
8 The children of foolish and base men, and not appearing at all upon the earth.
Sons of folly—even sons without name, They have been struck from the land.
9 Now I am turned into their song, and am become their byword.
And now, I have been their song, And I am to them for a byword.
10 They abhor me, and flee far from me, and are not afraid to spit in my face.
They have detested me, They have kept far from me, And from before me have not spared to spit.
11 For he hath opened his quiver, and hath afflicted me, and hath put a bridle into my mouth.
Because He loosed His cord and afflicts me, And the bridle from before me, They have cast away.
12 At the right hand of my rising, my calamities forthwith arose: they have overthrown my feet, and have overwhelmed me with their paths as with waves.
A brood arises on the right hand, They have cast away my feet, And they raise up against me, Their paths of calamity.
13 They have destroyed my ways, they have lain in wait against me, and they have prevailed, and there was none to help.
They have broken down my path, They profit by my calamity: He has no helper.
14 They have rushed in upon me, as when a wall is broken, and a gate opened, and have rolled themselves down to my miseries.
They come as a wide breach, Under the desolation have rolled themselves.
15 I am brought to nothing: as a wind thou hast taken away my desire: and my prosperity hath passed away like a cloud.
He has turned terrors against me, It pursues my abundance as the wind, And as a thick cloud, My safety has passed away.
16 And now my soul fadeth within myself, and the days of affliction possess me.
And now, in me my soul pours itself out, Days of affliction seize me.
17 In the night my bone is pierced with sorrows: and they that feed upon me, do not sleep.
[At] night my bone has been pierced in me, And my gnawing [pain] does not lie down.
18 With the multitude of them my garment is consumed, and they have girded me about, as with the collar of my coat.
By the abundance of power, Is my clothing changed, As the mouth of my coat it girds me.
19 I am compared to dirt, and am likened to embers and ashes.
Casting me into mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to thee, and thou hearest me not: I stand up, and thou dost not regard me.
I cry to You, And You do not answer me, I have stood, and You consider me.
21 Thou art changed to be cruel toward me, and in the hardness of thy hand thou art against me.
You are turned to be fierce to me, With the strength of Your hand, You oppress me.
22 Thou hast lifted me up, and set me as it were upon the wind, and thou hast mightily dashed me.
You lift me up, You cause me to ride on the wind, And You melt—You level me.
23 I know that thou wilt deliver me to death, where a house is appointed for every one that liveth.
For I have known You bring me back [to] death, And [to] the house appointed for all living.
24 But yet thou stretchest not forth thy hand to their consumption: and if they shall fall down thou wilt save.
Surely not against the heap Does He send forth the hand, Though they have safety in its ruin.
25 I wept heretofore for him that was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor.
Did I not weep for him whose day is hard? My soul has grieved for the needy.
26 I expected good things, and evils are come upon me: I waited for light, and darkness broke out.
When I expected good, then comes evil, And I wait for light, and darkness comes.
27 My inner parts have boiled without any rest, the days of affliction have prevented me.
My bowels have boiled, and have not ceased, Days of affliction have gone before me.
28 I went mourning without indignation; I rose up, and cried in the crowd.
I have gone mourning without the sun, I have risen, I cry in an assembly.
29 I was the brother of dragons, and companion of ostriches.
I have been a brother to dragons, And a companion to daughters of the ostrich.
30 My skin is become black upon me, and my bones are dried up with heat.
My skin has been black on me, And my bone has burned from heat,
31 My harp is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of those that weep.
And my harp becomes mourning, And my pipe the sound of weeping.”

< Job 30 >