Job 30
1 “But now men who are younger than I am make fun of me— men whose fathers I greatly despised, with the result that I would not even have allowed them to help my dogs guard my sheep.
“But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to entrust with my sheep dogs.
2 They were men who were old and (weak/worn out); so (what could I gain from them working for me?/I would have gained nothing from them working for me.) [RHQ]
What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them?
3 They were very poor and hungry, with the result that they chewed on roots [at night] in dry and desolate places.
Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night.
4 They pulled up plants in the desert [and ate them] and warmed themselves by [burning] the roots of broom trees.
They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food.
5 Everyone shouted at them as though they were thieves and expelled them [from their areas].
They were banished from among men, shouted down like thieves,
6 They were forced to live in caves in the hills, in holes in the ground, and in the sides of cliffs.
so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
7 In the bushes they howled [like animals because they were hungry], and they huddled together under thornbushes.
They cried out among the shrubs and huddled beneath the nettles.
8 They were people without good sense, whose names no one knows; they have been expelled from the land [where they were born].
A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land.
9 “And now their [children] sing songs to make fun of me. They tell jokes about me.
And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.
10 They are disgusted with me, and they [usually] stay away from me, [but when they see me, ] they are happy to spit in my face.
They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11 Because [it is as though] [MET] God has cut my bowstring, [he has caused me to be unable to defend myself, ] and he has humbled me, and my enemies have done to me whatever they wanted.
Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.
12 (Gangs/Groups of violent youths) attack me and force me to run away; they prepare to destroy me.
The rabble arises at my right; they lay snares for my feet and build siege ramps against me.
13 They prevent me from escaping, and they [do] not [need] anyone to help them (OR, there is no one to help me).
They tear up my path; they profit from my destruction, with no one to restrain them.
14 [It is as though I am a city wall and] [SIM] they have broken through the wall, and they have come crashing down on me.
They advance as through a wide breach; through the ruins they keep rolling in.
15 I am very terrified; My dignity/honor has been taken away as though [SIM] [it has been] blown away by the wind, and my prosperity has disappeared like [SIM] clouds disappear.
Terrors are turned loose against me; they drive away my dignity as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed like a cloud.
16 “And now I [SYN] am about to die [IDM]; I suffer every day.
And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction grip me.
17 My bones ache during the night, and the pain that torments me never stops.
Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never rest.
18 [It is as though God] seizes my clothes and chokes me with the collar of my coat.
With great force He grasps my garment; He seizes me by the collar of my tunic.
19 He has thrown me into the mud; I am [not worth anything more than] dust and ashes.
He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
20 “I cry out to God, but he does not answer/help me; I stand up [and pray], but he does not pay any attention.
I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer; when I stand up, You merely look at me.
21 He acts very cruelly toward me; with all of his power [MTY] he causes me to suffer.
You have ruthlessly turned on me; You oppose me with Your strong hand.
22 He [allows] the wind to lift me up and blow me away, and he tosses me up and down in a violent storm.
You snatch me up into the wind and drive me before it; You toss me about in the storm.
23 I know that he will cause me to die, which is what happens to everyone [MTY] who is alive.
Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
24 “When people experience disasters, and they sit on a pile of ruins and cry out for help, others surely [RHQ] reach out their hand to help them.
Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man when he cries for help in his distress.
25 [That is what I did previously]. I wept for people who were experiencing troubles, and I felt sorry for poor/needy people.
Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy?
26 But when I expected good things [to happen to me], evil things happened; when I waited for light/happiness, all I experienced was darkness/unhappiness [MET].
But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness fell.
27 I am very distressed [IDM], all the time; I suffer every day.
I am churning within and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me.
28 I go about very discouraged; I stand up and plead for people to help me.
I go about blackened, but not by the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
29 My wailing sounds as sad as [MET] the cries of jackals/foxes and ostriches.
I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of ostriches.
30 My skin has become dark/black and is peeling off, and I have a fever [which causes my body to feel like it is] burning.
My skin grows black and peels, and my bones burn with fever.
31 Previously, I played joyful music on my harp and with my flute, but now I play only the sad music of those who mourn.”
My harp is tuned to mourning and my flute to the sound of weeping.
