איוב 30

1 ועתה שחקו עלי צעירים ממני לימים אשר מאסתי אבותם לשית עם כלבי צאני׃

But now, those younger in years scorn me, whose fathers I would not have seen fit to place with the dogs of my flock,

2 גם כח ידיהם למה לי עלימו אבד כלח׃

the strength of whose hands was nothing to me, and they were considered unworthy of life itself.

3 בחסר ובכפן גלמוד הערקים ציה אמש שואה ומשאה׃

They were barren from poverty and hunger; they gnawed in solitude, layered with misfortune and misery.

4 הקטפים מלוח עלי שיח ושרש רתמים לחמם׃

And they chewed grass and the bark from trees, and the root of junipers was their food.

5 מן גו יגרשו יריעו עלימו כגנב׃

They took these things from the steep valleys, and when they discovered one of these things, they rushed to the others with a cry.

6 בערוץ נחלים לשכן חרי עפר וכפים׃

They lived in the parched desert and in caves underground or above the rocks.

7 בין שיחים ינהקו תחת חרול יספחו׃

They rejoiced among these kinds of things, and they considered it delightful to be under thorns.

8 בני נבל גם בני בלי שם נכאו מן הארץ׃

These are the sons of foolish and base men, not even paying any attention to the land.

9 ועתה נגינתם הייתי ואהי להם למלה׃

Now I become their song, and I have been made into their proverb.

10 תעבוני רחקו מני ומפני לא חשכו רק׃

They loathe me, and so they flee far from me, and they are not reluctant to spit in my face.

11 כי יתרו פתח ויענני ורסן מפני שלחו׃

For he has opened his quiver and has afflicted me, and he has placed a bridle in my mouth.

12 על ימין פרחח יקומו רגלי שלחו ויסלו עלי ארחות אידם׃

Immediately, upon rising, my calamities rise up to the right. They have overturned my feet and have pressed me down along their way like waves.

13 נתסו נתיבתי להותי יעילו לא עזר למו׃

They have diverted my journeys; they have waited to ambush me, and they have prevailed, and there was no one who might bring help.

14 כפרץ רחב יאתיו תחת שאה התגלגלו׃

They have rushed upon me, as when a wall is broken or a gate opened, and they have been pulled down into my miseries.

15 ההפך עלי בלהות תרדף כרוח נדבתי וכעב עברה ישעתי׃

I have been reduced to nothing. You have taken away my desire like a wind, and my health has passed by like a cloud.

16 ועתה עלי תשתפך נפשי יאחזוני ימי עני׃

But now my soul withers within myself, and the days of affliction take hold of me.

17 לילה עצמי נקר מעלי וערקי לא ישכבון׃

At night, my bone is pierced with sorrows, and those who feed on me, do not sleep.

18 ברב כח יתחפש לבושי כפי כתנתי יאזרני׃

By the sheer number of them my clothing is worn away, and they have closed in on me like the collar of my coat.

19 הרני לחמר ואתמשל כעפר ואפר׃

I have been treated like dirt, and I have been turned into embers and ashes.

20 אשוע אליך ולא תענני עמדתי ותתבנן בי׃

I cry to you, and you do not heed me. I stand up, and you do not look back at me.

21 תהפך לאכזר לי בעצם ידך תשטמני׃

You have changed me into hardness, and, with the hardness of your hand, you oppose me.

22 תשאני אל רוח תרכיבני ותמגגני תשוה׃

You have lifted me up, and, placing me as if on the wind, you have thrown me down powerfully.

23 כי ידעתי מות תשיבני ובית מועד לכל חי׃

I know that you will hand me over to death, where a home has been established for all the living.

24 אך לא בעי ישלח יד אם בפידו להן שוע׃

Truly, then, you do not extend your hand in order to consume them, and if they fall down, you will save them.

25 אם לא בכיתי לקשה יום עגמה נפשי לאביון׃

Once, I wept over him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor.

26 כי טוב קויתי ויבא רע ואיחלה לאור ויבא אפל׃

I expected good things, but evil things have come to me. I stood ready for light, yet darkness burst forth.

27 מעי רתחו ולא דמו קדמני ימי עני׃

My insides have seethed, without any rest, for the days of affliction have prevented it.

28 קדר הלכתי בלא חמה קמתי בקהל אשוע׃

I went forth mourning, without anger, and rising up, I cried out in confusion.

29 אח הייתי לתנים ורע לבנות יענה׃

I was the brother of snakes, and the companion of ostriches.

30 עורי שחר מעלי ועצמי חרה מני חרב׃

My skin has become blackened over me, and my bones have dried up because of the heat.

31 ויהי לאבל כנרי ועגבי לקול בכים׃

My harp has been turned into mourning, and my pipes have been turned into a voice of weeping.