Job 30
1 Now those who are younger than I have nothing but mockery for me— these young men whose fathers I would have refused to allow to work beside the dogs of my flock.
But now those who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 Indeed, the strength of their fathers' hands, how could it have helped me— men in whom the strength of their mature age had perished?
Yea, the strength of their hands, to what should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished.
3 They were thin from poverty and hunger; they gnawed at the dry ground in the darkness of wilderness and desolation.
They are gaunt with want and famine. They gnaw the dry ground in the gloom of waste and desolation.
4 They plucked saltwort and bushes' leaves; the roots of the broom tree were their food.
They pluck mallows by the bushes, and the roots of the juniper are their food.
5 They were driven out from among people who shouted after them as one would shout after a thief.
They are driven forth from the midst of men. They cry out after them as after a thief,
6 So they had to live in river valleys, in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
so that they dwell in frightful valleys, in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they brayed like donkeys and they gathered together under the nettles.
Among the bushes they bray, under the nettles they are gathered together.
8 They were the sons of fools, indeed, sons of nameless people! They were driven out of the land with whips.
They are sons of fools, yea, sons of base men. They were scourged out of the land.
9 But now I have become the subject of their taunting song; I have become a byword for them.
And now I have become their song, Yea, I am a byword to them.
10 They abhor me and stand far off from me; they do not refrain from spitting in my face.
They abhor me. They stand aloof from me, and do not spare to spit in my face.
11 For God has unstrung the string to my bow and afflicted me, and those who taunt me cast off restraint before my face.
For he has loosed his cord, and afflicted me. And they have cast off the bridle before me.
12 Upon my right hand rise the rabble; they drive me away and pile up against me their siege mounds.
Upon my right hand rise the rabble. They thrust aside my feet, and they cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They destroy my path; they push forward disaster for me, men who have no one to hold them back.
They mar my path. They set forward my calamity, even men who have no helper.
14 They come against me like an army through a wide hole in a city wall; in the midst of the destruction they roll themselves in on me.
As through a wide breach they come. In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves upon me.
15 Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is driven away as if by the wind; my prosperity passes away as a cloud.
Terrors are turned upon me. They chase my honor as the wind, and my welfare is passed away as a cloud.
16 Now my life is pouring out from within me; many days of suffering have laid hold on me.
And now my soul is poured out within me. Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
17 In the night my bones in me are pierced; the pains that gnaw at me take no rest.
In the night season my bones are pierced in me, and the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
18 God's great force has seized my clothing; it wraps around me like the collar of my tunic.
By the great force my garment is disfigured. It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
19 He has thrown me into the mud; I have become like dust and ashes.
He has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you, God, but you do not answer me; I stand up, and you merely look at me.
I cry to thee, and thou do not answer me. I stand up, and thou gaze at me.
21 You have changed and become cruel to me; with the strength of your hand you persecute me.
Thou have turned to be cruel to me. With the might of thy hand thou persecute me.
22 You lift me up to the wind and cause it to drive me along; you throw me back and forth in a storm.
Thou lift me up to the wind. Thou cause me to ride upon it, and thou disintegrate me in the storm.
23 For I know that you will bring me to death, to the house appointed for all the living.
For I know that thou will bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.
24 However, does no one reach out with his hand to beg for help when he falls? Does no one in trouble call out for help?
However does not a man stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
25 Did not I weep for him who was in trouble? Did I not grieve for the needy man?
Did I not weep for him who was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26 When I hoped for good, then evil came; when I waited for light, darkness came instead.
When I looked for good, then evil came. And when I waited for light, there came darkness.
27 My heart is troubled and does not rest; days of affliction have come on me.
My heart is troubled, and does not rest. Days of affliction have come upon me.
28 I have gone about like one who was living in the dark, but not because of the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
I go mourning without the sun. I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
29 I am a brother to jackals, a companion of ostriches.
I am a brother to jackals, and a companion to ostriches.
30 My skin is black and falls away from me; my bones are burned with heat.
My skin is black, and falls from me. And my bones are burned with heat.
31 Therefore my harp is tuned for songs of mourning, my flute for the singing of those who wail.
Therefore my harp has turned to mourning, and my pipe into the voice of those who weep.
