< Job 30 >
1 nunc autem derident me iuniores tempore quorum non dignabar patres ponere cum canibus gregis mei
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.
2 quorum virtus manuum erat mihi pro nihilo et vita ipsa putabantur indigni
Indeed, the strength of their fathers' hands, how could it have helped me— men in whom the strength of their mature age had perished?
3 egestate et fame steriles qui rodebant in solitudine squalentes calamitate et miseria
They were thin from poverty and hunger; they gnawed at the dry ground in the darkness of wilderness and desolation.
4 et mandebant herbas et arborum cortices et radix iuniperorum erat cibus eorum
They plucked saltwort and bushes' leaves; the roots of the broom tree were their food.
5 qui de convallibus ista rapientes cum singula repperissent ad ea cum clamore currebant
They were driven out from among people who shouted after them as one would shout after a thief.
6 in desertis habitabant torrentium et in cavernis terrae vel super glaream
So they had to live in river valleys, in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 qui inter huiuscemodi laetabantur et esse sub sentibus delicias conputabant
Among the bushes they brayed like donkeys and they gathered together under the nettles.
8 filii stultorum et ignobilium et in terra penitus non parentes
They were the sons of fools, indeed, sons of nameless people! They were driven out of the land with whips.
9 nunc in eorum canticum versus sum et factus sum eis proverbium
But now I have become the subject of their taunting song; I have become a byword for them.
10 abominantur me et longe fugiunt a me et faciem meam conspuere non verentur
They abhor me and stand far off from me; they do not refrain from spitting in my face.
11 faretram enim suam aperuit et adflixit me et frenum posuit in os meum
For God has unstrung the string to my bow and afflicted me, and those who taunt me cast off restraint before my face.
12 ad dexteram orientis calamitatis meae ilico surrexerunt pedes meos subverterunt et oppresserunt quasi fluctibus semitis suis
Upon my right hand rise the rabble; they drive me away and pile up against me their siege mounds.
13 dissipaverunt itinera mea insidiati sunt mihi et praevaluerunt et non fuit qui ferret auxilium
They destroy my path; they push forward disaster for me, men who have no one to hold them back.
14 quasi rupto muro et aperta ianua inruerunt super me et ad meas miserias devoluti sunt
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.
15 redactus sum in nihili abstulisti quasi ventus desiderium meum et velut nubes pertransiit salus mea
Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is driven away as if by the wind; my prosperity passes away as a cloud.
16 nunc autem in memet ipso marcescit anima mea et possident me dies adflictionis
Now my life is pouring out from within me; many days of suffering have laid hold on me.
17 nocte os meum perforatur doloribus et qui me comedunt non dormiunt
In the night my bones in me are pierced; the pains that gnaw at me take no rest.
18 in multitudine eorum consumitur vestimentum meum et quasi capitio tunicae sic cinxerunt me
God's great force has seized my clothing; it wraps around me like the collar of my tunic.
19 conparatus sum luto et adsimilatus favillae et cineri
He has thrown me into the mud; I have become like dust and ashes.
20 clamo ad te et non exaudis me sto et non respicis me
I cry to you, God, but you do not answer me; I stand up, and you merely look at me.
21 mutatus es mihi in crudelem et in duritia manus tuae adversaris mihi
You have changed and become cruel to me; with the strength of your hand you persecute me.
22 elevasti me et quasi super ventum ponens elisisti me valide
You lift me up to the wind and cause it to drive me along; you throw me back and forth in a storm.
23 scio quia morti tradas me ubi constituta domus est omni viventi
For I know that you will bring me to death, to the house appointed for all the living.
24 verumtamen non ad consumptionem eorum emittis manum tuam et si corruerint ipse salvabis
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?
25 flebam quondam super eum qui adflictus erat et conpatiebatur anima mea pauperi
Did not I weep for him who was in trouble? Did I not grieve for the needy man?
26 expectabam bona et venerunt mihi mala praestolabar lucem et eruperunt tenebrae
When I hoped for good, then evil came; when I waited for light, darkness came instead.
27 interiora mea efferbuerunt absque ulla requie praevenerunt me dies adflictionis
My heart is troubled and does not rest; days of affliction have come on me.
28 maerens incedebam sine furore consurgens in turba clamavi
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.
29 frater fui draconum et socius strutionum
I am a brother to jackals, a companion of ostriches.
30 cutis mea denigrata est super me et ossa mea aruerunt prae caumate
My skin is black and falls away from me; my bones are burned with heat.
31 versa est in luctum cithara mea et organum meum in vocem flentium
Therefore my harp is tuned for songs of mourning, my flute for the singing of those who wail.