Job 30

1  "But now they laugh at me,
men who are younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to set with the dogs of my flock.
2  What could I gain from the strength of their hands,
men whose vigor is gone?
3  Through want and hard hunger
they gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation;
4  they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
and the roots of the broom tree for their food.t
5  They are driven out from human company;
they shout after them as after a thief.
6  In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,
in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7  Among the bushes they bray;
under the nettles they huddle together.
8  A senseless, a nameless brood,
they have been whipped out of the land.

9  "And now I have become their song;
I am a byword to them.
10  They abhor me; they keep aloof from me;
they do not hesitate to spit at the sight of me.
11  Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
they have cast off restraintt in my presence.
12  On my right hand the rabble rise;
they push away my feet;
they cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13  They break up my path;
they promote my calamity;
they need no one to help them.
14  As through a wide breach they come;
amid the crash they roll on.
15  Terrors are turned upon me;
my honor is pursued as by the wind,
and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

16  "And now my soul is poured out within me;
days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17  The night racks my bones,
and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.
18  With great force my garment is disfigured;
it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
19  Godt has cast me into the mire,
and I have become like dust and ashes.
20  I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;
I stand, and you only look at me.
21  You have turned cruel to me;
with the might of your hand you persecute me.
22  You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,
and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.
23  For I know that you will bring me to death
and to the house appointed for all living.

24  "Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
and in his disaster cry for help?t
25  Did not I weep for him whose day was hard?
Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26  But when I hoped for good, evil came,
and when I waited for light, darkness came.
27  My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;
days of affliction come to meet me.
28  I go about darkened, but not by the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
29  I am a brother of jackals
and a companion of ostriches.
30  My skin turns black and falls from me,
and my bones burn with heat.
31  My lyre is turned to mourning,
and my pipe to the voice of those who weep.

Job 30

Job’s Present Misery

1 “But now they mock me, those who are youngert than I,
whose fathers I disdained too mucht
to put with my sheep dogs.s

2 Moreover, the strength of theirt hands –
what use was it to me?
Men whose strengtht had perished;

3 gauntt with want and hunger,
they would gnawt the parched land,
in former time desolate and waste.t

4 By the brusht they would gathert herbs from the salt marshes,t
and the root of the broom tree was their food.

5 They were banished from the communityt –
peoplet shouted at them
like they would shout at thievest –

6 so that they had to livet
in the dry stream beds,t
in the holes of the ground, and among the rocks.

7 They brayedt like animals among the bushes
and were huddled togethert under the nettles.

8 Sons of senseless and nameless people,t
they were driven out of the land with whips.t

Job’s Indignities

9 “And now I have become their taunt song;
I have become a bywordt among them.

10 They detest me and maintain their distance;t
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

11 Because God has untiedt my tent cord and afflicted me,
people throw off all restraint in my presence.s

12 On my right the young rabblet rise up;
they drive me from place to place,t
and build up siege rampst against me.s

13 They destroyt my path;
they succeed in destroying mes
without anyone assistingt them.

14 They come in as through a wide breach;
amid the crasht they come rolling in.t

15 Terrors are turned looset on me;
they drive aways my honor like the wind,
and like a cloud my deliverance has passed away.

Job’s Despondency

16 “And now my soul pours itself out within me;t
days of suffering take hold of me.

17 Night piercest my bones;s
my gnawing painst never cease.

18 With great power Godt grasps my clothing;s
he binds me like the collart of my tunic.

19 He has flung me into the mud,
and I have come to resemble dust and ashes.

20 I cry out to you,s but you do not answer me;
I stand up,s and you only look at me.t

21 You have become cruel to me;t
with the strength of your hand you attack me.s

22 You pick me up on the wind and make me ride on it;s
you toss me aboutt in the storm.s

23 I know that you are bringingt me to death,
to the meeting place for all the living.

The Contrast With the Past

24 “Surely one does not stretch out his hand
against a broken mans
when he cries for help in his distress.s

25 Have I not wept for the unfortunate?t
Was not my soul grieved for the poor?

26 But when I hoped for good, trouble came;
when I expected light, then darkness came.

27 My heartt is in turmoilt unceasingly;t
the days of my affliction confront me.

28 I go about blackened,t but not by the sun;
in the assembly I stand up and cry for help.

29 I have become a brother to jackals
and a companion of ostriches.s

30 My skin has turned dark on me;t
my bodyt is hot with fever.t

31 My harp is used fort mourning
and my flute for the sound of weeping.