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 the younger in time scorn me, whose fathers I would not have set with the dogs of my flock:
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]
The strength of whose hands was to me as nothing, and they were thought unworthy of life itself.
3 They were very poor and hungry, with the result that they chewed on roots [at night] in dry and desolate places.
Barren with want and hunger, who gnawed in the wilderness, disfigured with calamity and misery.
4 They pulled up plants in the desert [and ate them] and warmed themselves by [burning] the roots of broom trees.
And they ate grass, and barks of trees, and the root of junipers was their food.
5 Everyone shouted at them as though they were thieves and expelled them [from their areas].
Who snatched up these things out of the valleys, and when they had found any of them, they ran to them with a cry.
6 They were forced to live in caves in the hills, in holes in the ground, and in the sides of cliffs.
They dwelt in the desert places of torrents, and in caves of earth, or upon the gravel.
7 In the bushes they howled [like animals because they were hungry], and they huddled together under thornbushes.
They pleased themselves among these kind of things, and counted it delightful to be under the briers.
8 They were people without good sense, whose names no one knows; they have been expelled from the land [where they were born].
The children of foolish and base men, and not appearing at all upon the earth.
9 “And now their [children] sing songs to make fun of me. They tell jokes about me.
Now I am turned into their song, and am become their byword.
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 flee far from me, and are not afraid 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.
For he hath opened his quiver, and hath afflicted me, and hath put a bridle into my mouth.
12 (Gangs/Groups of violent youths) attack me and force me to run away; they prepare to destroy me.
At the right hand of my rising, my calamities forthwith arose: they have overthrown my feet, and have overwhelmed me with their paths as with waves.
13 They prevent me from escaping, and they [do] not [need] anyone to help them (OR, there is no one to help me).
They have destroyed my ways, they have lain in wait against me, and they have prevailed, and there was none to help.
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 have rushed in upon me, as when a wall is broken, and a gate opened, and have rolled themselves down to my miseries.
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.
I am brought to nothing: as a wind thou hast taken away my desire: and my prosperity hath passed away like a cloud.
16 “And now I [SYN] am about to die [IDM]; I suffer every day.
And now my soul fadeth within myself, and the days of affliction possess me.
17 My bones ache during the night, and the pain that torments me never stops.
In the night my bone is pierced with sorrows: and they that feed upon me, do not sleep.
18 [It is as though God] seizes my clothes and chokes me with the collar of my coat.
With the multitude of them my garment is consumed, and they have girded me about, as with the collar of my coat.
19 He has thrown me into the mud; I am [not worth anything more than] dust and ashes.
I am compared to dirt, and am likened to embers 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 to thee, and thou hearest me not: I stand up, and thou dost not regard me.
21 He acts very cruelly toward me; with all of his power [MTY] he causes me to suffer.
Thou art changed to be cruel toward me, and in the hardness of thy hand thou art against me.
22 He [allows] the wind to lift me up and blow me away, and he tosses me up and down in a violent storm.
Thou hast lifted me up, and set me as it were upon the wind, and thou hast mightily dashed me.
23 I know that he will cause me to die, which is what happens to everyone [MTY] who is alive.
I know that thou wilt deliver me to death, where a house is appointed for every one that liveth.
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.
But yet thou stretchest not forth thy hand to their consumption: and if they shall fall down thou wilt save.
25 [That is what I did previously]. I wept for people who were experiencing troubles, and I felt sorry for poor/needy people.
I wept heretofore for him that was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor.
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].
I expected good things, and evils are come upon me: I waited for light, and darkness broke out.
27 I am very distressed [IDM], all the time; I suffer every day.
My inner parts have boiled without any rest, the days of affliction have prevented me.
28 I go about very discouraged; I stand up and plead for people to help me.
I went mourning without indignation; I rose up, and cried in the crowd.
29 My wailing sounds as sad as [MET] the cries of jackals/foxes and ostriches.
I was the brother of dragons, and 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 is become black upon me, and my bones are dried up with heat.
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 turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of those that weep.
