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Job 30

1 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, Whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.

2 Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished.

3 They are gaunt with want and famine; They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of wasteness and desolation.

4 They pluck salt-wort by the bushes; And the roots of the broom are their food.

5 They are driven forth from the midst of men; They cry after them as after a thief;

6 So that they dwell in frightful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.

7 Among the bushes they bray; Under the nettles they are gathered together.

8  They are children of fools, yea, children of base men; They were scourged out of the land.

9 And now I am become their song, Yea, I am a byword unto them.

10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, And spare not to spit in my face.

11 For he hath loosed his cord, and afflicted me; And they have cast off the bridle before me.

12 Upon my right hand rise the rabble; They thrust aside my feet, And they cast up against me their ways of destruction.

13 They mar my path, They set forward my calamity, Even men that have no helper.

14 As through a wide breach they come: In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves upon me.

15 Terrors are turned upon me; They chase mine honor as the wind; And my welfare is passed away as a cloud.

16 And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.

17 In the night season my bones are pierced in me, And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.

18 By God’s great force is my garment disfigured; It bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.

19 He hath cast me into the mire, And I am become like dust and ashes.

20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me: I stand up, and thou gazest at me.

21 Thou art turned to be cruel to me; With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.

22 Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride upon it; And thou dissolvest me in the storm.

23 For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.

24 Howbeit doth not one stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?

25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

26 When I looked for good, then evil came; And when I waited for light, there came darkness.

27 My heart is troubled, and resteth not; Days of affliction are come upon me.

28 I go mourning without the sun: I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.

29 I am a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.

30 My skin is black, and falleth from me, And my bones are burned with heat.

31 Therefore is my harp turned to mourning, And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.

JOB 30

Job Continues

Young People Now //Insult Me

1 Young people now insult me,
although their fathers
would have been a disgrace
to my sheep dogs.

2 And those who insult me
are helpless themselves.

3 They must claw the desert sand
in the dark for something
to satisfy their hunger.t

4 They gather tasteless shrubs
for food and firewood,

5 and they are run out of towns,
as though they were thieves.

6 Their only homes are ditches
or holes between rocks,

7 where they bray like donkeys
gathering around shrubs.

8 And like senseless donkeys
they are chased away.

Those Worthless Nobodies


9 Those worthless nobodies
make up jokes and songs
to disgrace me.

10 They are hateful
and keep their distance,
even while spitting
in my direction.

11 God has destroyed me,
and so they don't care
what they do.t

12 Their attacks never stop,
though I am defenseless,
and my feet are trapped.t

13 Without any help,
they prevent my escape,
destroying me completelyt

14 and leaving me crushed.

15 Terror has me surrounded;
my reputation and my riches
have vanished like a cloud.

I Am Sick at Heart


16 I am sick at heart!
Pain has taken its toll.

17 Night chews on my bones,
causing endless torment,

18 and God has shrunk my skin,
choking me to death.t

19 I have been thrown in the dirt
and now am dirt myself.

20 I beg God for help,
but there is no answer;
and when I stand up,
he simply stares.

21 God has turned brutal,

22 stirring up a windstorm
to toss me about.

23 Soon he will send me home
to the world of the dead,
where we all must go.

24 No one refuses help to others,
when disaster strikes.t

25 I mourned for the poor
and those who suffered.

26 But when I beg for relief
and light,
all I receive are disaster
and darkness.

27 My stomach is tied in knots;
pain is my daily companion.

28 My days are dark and gloomy
and in the city council
I stand and cry out,

29 making mournful sounds
like jackalst and owls.

30 My skin is so parched,
that it peels right off,
and my bones are burning.

31 My only songs are sorrow
and sadness.