< Job 30 >

1 But now [they that are] younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have 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 [might] the strength of their hands [profit] me, in whom old age was perished?
Yea, the strength of their hands, to what should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished.
3 For want and famine [they were] solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.
They are gaunt with want and famine. They gnaw the dry ground in the gloom of waste and desolation.
4 Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots [for] their meat.
They pluck mallows by the bushes, and the roots of the juniper are their food.
5 They were driven forth from among [men], (they cried 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 the clifts of the valleys, [in] caves of the earth, and [in] the rocks.
so that they dwell in frightful valleys, in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.
Among the bushes they bray, under the nettles they are gathered together.
8 [They were] children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.
They are sons of fools, yea, sons of base men. They were scourged out of the land.
9 And now am I 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 flee far from me, and 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 Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.
For he has loosed his cord, and afflicted me. And they have cast off the bridle before me.
12 Upon [my] right [hand] rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.
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, they have no helper.
They mar my path. They set forward my calamity, even men who have no helper.
14 They came [upon me] as a wide breaking in [of waters: ] in the desolation they rolled themselves [upon me].
As through a wide breach they come. In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves upon me.
15 Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as 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 upon me; the 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 My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.
In the night season my bones are pierced in me, and the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
18 By the great force [of my disease] is my garment changed: it bindeth 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 am 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 dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me [not].
I cry to thee, and thou do not answer me. I stand up, and thou gaze at me.
21 Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against 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 ride [upon it], 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 [to] the house appointed for all living.
For I know that thou will bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.
24 Howbeit he will not stretch out [his] hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.
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 that was in trouble? was [not] my soul grieved for the poor?
Did I not weep for him who was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26 When I looked for good, then evil came [unto me: ] and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
When I looked for good, then evil came. And when I waited for light, there came darkness.
27 My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.
My heart is troubled, and does not rest. Days of affliction have come upon me.
28 I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, [and] I cried in the congregation.
I go mourning without the sun. I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
I am a brother to jackals, and a companion to ostriches.
30 My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned 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 organ into the voice of them that weep.
Therefore my harp has turned to mourning, and my pipe into the voice of those who weep.

< Job 30 >