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 they that are younger than I hold me in derision, Whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 Also—the power of their hands, why [is it] to me? On them old age has perished.
Of what use to me would be even the strength of their hands, To whom old age is lost?
3 With want and with harsh famine, They are gnawing a dry place [in] the recent night, [In] desolation and ruin,
By want and hunger they are famished; They gnaw the dry desert, The darkness of desolate wastes.
4 Those cropping mallows near a shrub, And their food [is] root of broom trees.
They gather purslain among the bushes, And the root of the broom is their bread.
5 They are cast out from the midst (They shout against them as a thief),
They are driven from the society of men; There is a cry after them as after a thief.
6 To dwell in a frightful place of valleys, Holes of earth and clefts.
They dwell in gloomy valleys, In caves of the earth and in rocks.
7 They groan among shrubs, They are gathered together under nettles.
They bray among the bushes; Under the brambles are they stretched out.
8 Sons of folly—even sons without name, They have been struck from the land.
An impious and low-born race, They are beaten out of the land.
9 And now, I have been their song, And I am to them for a byword.
And now I am become their song; Yea, I am their by-word!
10 They have detested me, They have kept far from me, And from before me have not spared to spit.
They abhor me, they stand aloof from me; They forbear not to spit before my face.
11 Because He loosed His cord and afflicts me, And the bridle from before me, They have cast away.
Yea, they let loose the reins, and humble me; They cast off the bridle before me.
12 A brood arises on the right hand, They have cast away my feet, And they raise up against me, Their paths of calamity.
On my right hand riseth up the brood; They thrust away my feet; They cast up against me their destructive ways.
13 They have broken down my path, They profit by my calamity: He has no helper.
They break up my path; They hasten my fall, —They who have no helper!
14 They come as a wide breach, Under the desolation have rolled themselves.
They come upon me as through a wide breach; Through the ruins they rush in upon me.
15 He has turned terrors against me, It pursues my abundance as the wind, And as a thick cloud, My safety has passed away.
Terrors are turned against me; They pursue my prosperity like the wind, And my welfare passeth away like a cloud.
16 And now, in me my soul pours itself out, Days of affliction seize me.
And now my soul poureth itself out upon me; Days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 [At] night my bone has been pierced in me, And my gnawing [pain] does not lie down.
By night my bones are pierced; they are torn from me, And my gnawers take no rest.
18 By the abundance of power, Is my clothing changed, As the mouth of my coat it girds me.
Through the violence of my disease is my garment changed; It bindeth me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 Casting me into mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.
He hath cast me into the mire, And I am become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to You, And You do not answer me, I have stood, and You consider me.
I call upon Thee, but thou dost not hear me; I stand up before thee, but thou regardest me not.
21 You are turned to be fierce to me, With the strength of Your hand, You oppress me.
Thou art become cruel to me; With thy strong hand dost thou lie in wait for me.
22 You lift me up, You cause me to ride on the wind, And You melt—You level me.
Thou liftest me up, and causest me to ride upon the wind; Thou meltest me away in the storm.
23 For I have known You bring me back [to] death, And [to] the house appointed for all living.
I know that thou wilt bring me to death, To the place of assembly for all the living.
24 Surely not against the heap Does He send forth the hand, Though they have safety in its ruin.
When He stretcheth out his hand, prayer availeth nothing; When He bringeth destruction, vain is the cry for help.
25 Did I not weep for him whose day is hard? My soul has grieved for the needy.
Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 When I expected good, then comes evil, And I wait for light, and darkness comes.
But when I looked for good, then evil came; When I looked for light, then came darkness.
27 My bowels have boiled, and have not ceased, Days of affliction have gone before me.
My bowels boil, and have no rest; Days of anguish have come upon me.
28 I have gone mourning without the sun, I have risen, I cry in an assembly.
I am black, but not by the sun; I stand up, and utter my cries in the congregation.
29 I have been a brother to dragons, And a companion to daughters of the ostrich.
I am become a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.
30 My skin has been black on me, And my bone has burned from heat,
My skin is black, and falleth from me, And my bones burn with heat.
31 And my harp becomes mourning, And my pipe the sound of weeping.”
My harp also is turned to mourning, And my pipe to notes of grief.
