Job 30
1 Bvt now they that are yonger then I, mocke me: yea, they whose fathers I haue refused to set with the dogges of my flockes.
But now, those younger in years scorn me, whose fathers I would not have seen fit to place with the dogs of my flock,
2 For whereto shoulde the strength of their handes haue serued mee, seeing age perished in them?
the strength of whose hands was nothing to me, and they were considered unworthy of life itself.
3 For pouertie and famine they were solitary, fleeing into the wildernes, which is darke, desolate and waste.
They were barren from poverty and hunger; they gnawed in solitude, layered with misfortune and misery.
4 They cut vp nettels by the bushes, and the iuniper rootes was their meate.
And they chewed grass and the bark from trees, and the root of junipers was their food.
5 They were chased forth from among men: they shouted at them, as at a theefe.
They took these things from the steep valleys, and when they discovered one of these things, they rushed to the others with a cry.
6 Therfore they dwelt in the clefts of riuers, in the holes of the earth and rockes.
They lived in the parched desert and in caves underground or above the rocks.
7 They roared among the bushes, and vnder the thistles they gathered themselues.
They rejoiced among these kinds of things, and they considered it delightful to be under thorns.
8 They were the children of fooles and the children of villaines, which were more vile then the earth.
These are the sons of foolish and base men, not even paying any attention to the land.
9 And now am I their song, and I am their talke.
Now I become their song, and I have been made into their proverb.
10 They abhorre me, and flee farre from mee, and spare not to spit in my face.
They loathe me, and so they flee far from me, and they are not reluctant to spit in my face.
11 Because that God hath loosed my corde and humbled mee, they haue loosed the bridle before me.
For he has opened his quiver and has afflicted me, and he has placed a bridle in my mouth.
12 The youth rise vp at my right hand: they haue pusht my feete, and haue trode on me as on the paths of their destruction.
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.
13 They haue destroyed my paths: they tooke pleasure at my calamitie, they had none helpe.
They have diverted my journeys; they have waited to ambush me, and they have prevailed, and there was no one who might bring help.
14 They came as a great breach of waters, and vnder this calamitie they come on heapes.
They have rushed upon me, as when a wall is broken or a gate opened, and they have been pulled down into my miseries.
15 Feare is turned vpon mee: and they pursue my soule as the winde, and mine health passeth away as a cloude.
I have been reduced to nothing. You have taken away my desire like a wind, and my health has passed by like a cloud.
16 Therefore my soule is nowe powred out vpon me, and the dayes of affliction haue taken holde on me.
But now my soul withers within myself, and the days of affliction take hold of me.
17 It pearceth my bones in the night, and my sinewes take no rest.
At night, my bone is pierced with sorrows, and those who feed on me, do not sleep.
18 For the great vehemencie is my garment changed, which compasseth me about as the colar of my coate.
By the sheer number of them my clothing is worn away, and they have closed in on me like the collar of my coat.
19 He hath cast me into the myre, and I am become like ashes and dust.
I have been treated like dirt, and I have been turned into embers and ashes.
20 Whe I cry vnto thee, thou doest not heare me, neither regardest me, when I stand vp.
I cry to you, and you do not heed me. I stand up, and you do not look back at me.
21 Thou turnest thy selfe cruelly against me, and art enemie vnto mee with the strength of thine hand.
You have changed me into hardness, and, with the hardness of your hand, you oppose me.
22 Thou takest me vp and causest mee to ride vpon the winde, and makest my strength to faile.
You have lifted me up, and, placing me as if on the wind, you have thrown me down powerfully.
23 Surely I knowe that thou wilt bring mee to death, and to the house appoynted for all the liuing.
I know that you will hand me over to death, where a home has been established for all the living.
24 Doubtles none can stretch his hand vnto the graue, though they cry in his destruction.
Truly, then, you do not extend your hand in order to consume them, and if they fall down, you will save them.
25 Did not I weepe with him that was in trouble? was not my soule in heauinesse for the poore?
Once, I wept over him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor.
26 Yet when I looked for good, euill came vnto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkenesse.
I expected good things, but evil things have come to me. I stood ready for light, yet darkness burst forth.
27 My bowels did boyle without rest: for the dayes of affliction are come vpon me.
My insides have seethed, without any rest, for the days of affliction have prevented it.
28 I went mourning without sunne: I stood vp in the congregation and cryed.
I went forth mourning, without anger, and rising up, I cried out in confusion.
29 I am a brother to the dragons, and a companion to the ostriches.
I was the brother of snakes, and the companion of ostriches.
30 My skinne is blacke vpon me, and my bones are burnt with heate.
My skin has become blackened over me, and my bones have dried up because of the heat.
31 Therefore mine harpe is turned to mourning, and mine organs into the voyce of them that weepe.
My harp has been turned into mourning, and my pipes have been turned into a voice of weeping.
