Job 30
1 “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.
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 Also—the power of their hands, why [is it] to me? On them old age has perished.
the strength of whose hands was nothing to me, and they were considered unworthy of life itself.
3 With want and with harsh famine, They are gnawing a dry place [in] the recent night, [In] desolation and ruin,
They were barren from poverty and hunger; they gnawed in solitude, layered with misfortune and misery.
4 Those cropping mallows near a shrub, And their food [is] root of broom trees.
And they chewed grass and the bark from trees, and the root of junipers was their food.
5 They are cast out from the midst (They shout against them as a thief),
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 To dwell in a frightful place of valleys, Holes of earth and clefts.
They lived in the parched desert and in caves underground or above the rocks.
7 They groan among shrubs, They are gathered together under nettles.
They rejoiced among these kinds of things, and they considered it delightful to be under thorns.
8 Sons of folly—even sons without name, They have been struck from the land.
These are the sons of foolish and base men, not even paying any attention to the land.
9 And now, I have been their song, And I am to them for a byword.
Now I become their song, and I have been made into their proverb.
10 They have detested me, They have kept far from me, And from before me have not spared to spit.
They loathe me, and so they flee far from me, and they are not reluctant to spit in my face.
11 Because He loosed His cord and afflicts me, And the bridle from before me, They have cast away.
For he has opened his quiver and has afflicted me, and he has placed a bridle in my mouth.
12 A brood arises on the right hand, They have cast away my feet, And they raise up against me, Their paths of calamity.
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 have broken down my path, They profit by my calamity: He has no helper.
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 come as a wide breach, Under the desolation have rolled themselves.
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 He has turned terrors against me, It pursues my abundance as the wind, And as a thick cloud, My safety has passed away.
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 And now, in me my soul pours itself out, Days of affliction seize me.
But now my soul withers within myself, and the days of affliction take hold of me.
17 [At] night my bone has been pierced in me, And my gnawing [pain] does not lie down.
At night, my bone is pierced with sorrows, and those who feed on me, do not sleep.
18 By the abundance of power, Is my clothing changed, As the mouth of my coat it girds me.
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 Casting me into mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.
I have been treated like dirt, and I have been turned into embers and ashes.
20 I cry to You, And You do not answer me, I have stood, and You consider me.
I cry to you, and you do not heed me. I stand up, and you do not look back at me.
21 You are turned to be fierce to me, With the strength of Your hand, You oppress me.
You have changed me into hardness, and, with the hardness of your hand, you oppose me.
22 You lift me up, You cause me to ride on the wind, And You melt—You level me.
You have lifted me up, and, placing me as if on the wind, you have thrown me down powerfully.
23 For I have known You bring me back [to] death, And [to] the house appointed for all living.
I know that you will hand me over to death, where a home has been established for all the living.
24 Surely not against the heap Does He send forth the hand, Though they have safety in its ruin.
Truly, then, you do not extend your hand in order to consume them, and if they fall down, you will save them.
25 Did I not weep for him whose day is hard? My soul has grieved for the needy.
Once, I wept over him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor.
26 When I expected good, then comes evil, And I wait for light, and darkness comes.
I expected good things, but evil things have come to me. I stood ready for light, yet darkness burst forth.
27 My bowels have boiled, and have not ceased, Days of affliction have gone before me.
My insides have seethed, without any rest, for the days of affliction have prevented it.
28 I have gone mourning without the sun, I have risen, I cry in an assembly.
I went forth mourning, without anger, and rising up, I cried out in confusion.
29 I have been a brother to dragons, And a companion to daughters of the ostrich.
I was the brother of snakes, and the companion of ostriches.
30 My skin has been black on me, And my bone has burned from heat,
My skin has become blackened over me, and my bones have dried up because of the heat.
31 And my harp becomes mourning, And my pipe the sound of weeping.”
My harp has been turned into mourning, and my pipes have been turned into a voice of weeping.
