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 that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to 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]
Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?
3 They were very poor and hungry, with the result that they chewed on roots [at night] in dry and desolate places.
For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.
4 They pulled up plants in the desert [and ate them] and warmed themselves by [burning] the roots of broom trees.
Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.
5 Everyone shouted at them as though they were thieves and expelled them [from their areas].
They were driven forth from among men, ( they cried after them as after a thief; )
6 They were forced to live in caves in the hills, in holes in the ground, and in the sides of cliffs.
To dwell in the clifts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks.
7 In the bushes they howled [like animals because they were hungry], and they huddled together under thornbushes.
Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.
8 They were people without good sense, whose names no one knows; they have been expelled from the land [where they were born].
They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.
9 “And now their [children] sing songs to make fun of me. They tell jokes about me.
And now am I their song, yea, I am 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, they flee far from me, and spare not 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 he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.
12 (Gangs/Groups of violent youths) attack me and force me to run away; they prepare to destroy me.
Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.
13 They prevent me from escaping, and they [do] not [need] anyone to help them (OR, there is no one to help me).
They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper.
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 came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.
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 upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.
16 “And now I [SYN] am about to die [IDM]; I suffer every day.
And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
17 My bones ache during the night, and the pain that torments me never stops.
My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.
18 [It is as though God] seizes my clothes and chokes me with the collar of my coat.
By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.
19 He has thrown me into the mud; I am [not worth anything more than] dust and ashes.
He hath cast me into the mire, and I am 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 unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not.
21 He acts very cruelly toward me; with all of his power [MTY] he causes me to suffer.
Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself 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 liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance.
23 I know that he will cause me to die, which is what happens to everyone [MTY] who is alive.
For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all 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.
Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.
25 [That is what I did previously]. I wept for people who were experiencing troubles, and I felt sorry for poor/needy people.
Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for 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].
When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
27 I am very distressed [IDM], all the time; I suffer every day.
My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.
28 I go about very discouraged; I stand up and plead for people to help me.
I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation.
29 My wailing sounds as sad as [MET] the cries of jackals/foxes and ostriches.
I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
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 black upon me, and my bones are burned 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 also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.
