Job 30
Living Bible
30 “But now those younger than I deride me—young men whose fathers are less than my dogs. 2 Oh, they have strong backs all right, but they are useless, stupid fools. 3 They are gaunt with famine and have been cast out into deserts and the wastelands, desolate and gloomy. 4 They eat roots and leaves, 5 having been driven from civilization. Men shouted after them as after thieves. 6 So now they live in frightening ravines, and in caves, and among the rocks. 7 They sound like animals among the bushes, huddling together for shelter beneath the nettles. 8 These sons of theirs have also turned out to be fools, yes, children of no name, outcasts of civilization.
9 “And now I have become the subject of their ribald song! I am a joke among them! 10 They despise me and won’t come near me, and don’t mind spitting in my face. 11 For God has placed my life in jeopardy. These young men, having humbled me, now cast off all restraint before me. 12 This rabble trips me and lays traps in my path. 13 They block my road and do everything they can to hasten my calamity, knowing full well that I have no one to help me. 14 They come at me from all directions. They rush upon me when I am down.
15 “I live in terror now. They hold me in contempt, and my prosperity has vanished as a cloud before a strong wind. 16 My heart is broken. Depression haunts my days. 17 My weary nights are filled with pain as though something were relentlessly gnawing at my bones. 18 All night long I toss and turn, and my garments bind about me. 19 God has thrown me into the mud. I have become as dust and ashes.
20 “I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer me. I stand before you and you don’t bother to look. 21 You have become cruel toward me and persecute me with great power and effect. 22 You throw me into the whirlwind and dissolve me in the storm. 23 And I know that your purpose for me is death. 24 I expected my fall to be broken, just as one who falls stretches out his hand or cries for help in his calamity.
25 “And did I not weep for those in trouble? Wasn’t I deeply grieved for the needy? 26 I therefore looked for good to come. Evil came instead. I waited for the light. Darkness came. 27 My heart is troubled and restless. Waves of affliction have come upon me. 28-29 I am black but not from sunburn. I stand up and cry to the assembly for help. But I might as well save my breath,[a] for I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to ostriches. 30 My skin is black and peeling. My bones burn with fever. 31 The voice of joy and gladness has turned to mourning.
Footnotes
- Job 30:28 But I might as well save my breath, implied.
Job 30
New King James Version
Job’s Wealth Now Poverty
30 “But now they mock at me, men [a]younger than I,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me?
Their vigor has perished.
3 They are gaunt from want and famine,
Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste,
4 Who pluck [b]mallow by the bushes,
And broom tree roots for their food.
5 They were driven out from among men,
They shouted at them as at a thief.
6 They had to live in the clefts of the [c]valleys,
In [d]caves of the earth and the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they brayed,
Under the nettles they nestled.
8 They were sons of fools,
Yes, sons of vile men;
They were scourged from the land.
9 “And(A) now I am their taunting song;
Yes, I am their byword.
10 They abhor me, they keep far from me;
They do not hesitate (B)to spit in my face.
11 Because (C)He has loosed [e]my bowstring and afflicted me,
They have cast off restraint before me.
12 At my right hand the rabble arises;
They push away my feet,
And (D)they raise against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path,
They promote my calamity;
They have no helper.
14 They come as broad breakers;
Under the ruinous storm they roll along.
15 Terrors are turned upon me;
They pursue my honor as the wind,
And my prosperity has passed like a cloud.
16 “And(E) now my soul is (F)poured out because of my plight;
The days of affliction take hold of me.
17 My bones are pierced in me at night,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.
18 By great force my garment is disfigured;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
19 He has cast me into the mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 “I (G)cry out to You, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You regard me.
21 But You have become cruel to me;
With the strength of Your hand You (H)oppose me.
22 You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it;
You spoil my success.
23 For I know that You will bring me to death,
And to the house (I)appointed for all living.
24 “Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins,
If they cry out when He destroys it.
25 (J)Have I not wept for him who was in trouble?
Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 (K)But when I looked for good, evil came to me;
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.
27 [f]My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest;
Days of affliction confront me.
28 (L)I go about mourning, but not in the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
29 (M)I am a brother of jackals,
And a companion of ostriches.
30 (N)My skin grows black and falls from me;
(O)My bones burn with fever.
31 My harp is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the voice of those who weep.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
