Job 30
English Standard Version
30 “But now they (A)laugh at me,
men who are (B)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,
(C)men whose (D)vigor is gone?
3 Through want and hard hunger
they (E)gnaw (F)the dry ground by night in (G)waste and desolation;
4 they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
and the roots of the broom tree for their food.[a]
5 (H)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 (I)the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they (J)bray;
under (K)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 (L)song;
I am (M)a byword to them.
10 They (N)abhor me; they keep aloof from me;
they do not hesitate to (O)spit at the sight of me.
11 Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
they have cast off restraint[b] in my presence.
12 On my (P)right hand the rabble rise;
they push away my feet;
they (Q)cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path;
they promote my (R)calamity;
they need no one to help them.
14 As through a wide (S)breach they come;
amid the crash they roll on.
15 (T)Terrors are turned upon me;
my honor is pursued as by the wind,
and my prosperity has passed away like (U)a cloud.
16 “And now my soul is (V)poured out within me;
days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 (W)The night (X)racks my bones,
and the pain that (Y)gnaws me takes no rest.
18 With great force my garment is (Z)disfigured;
it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 God[c] has cast me into the mire,
and I have become like (AA)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 (AB)turned cruel to me;
with the might of your hand you (AC)persecute me.
22 (AD)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 (AE)For I know that you will bring me to death
and to the house appointed for (AF)all living.
24 “Yet does not one in a (AG)heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
and in his disaster cry for help?[d]
25 Did not I (AH)weep for him whose day was hard?
Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26 But (AI)when I hoped for good, evil came,
and when I waited for light, (AJ)darkness came.
27 My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;
days of affliction (AK)come to meet me.
28 I (AL)go about darkened, but not by the sun;
I stand up in (AM)the assembly and cry for help.
29 I am a brother of (AN)jackals
and a companion of (AO)ostriches.
30 My (AP)skin turns black and falls from me,
and my (AQ)bones burn with heat.
31 My (AR)lyre is (AS)turned to mourning,
and my (AT)pipe to the voice of those who weep.
Job 30
New Living Translation
Job Speaks of His Anguish
30 “But now I am mocked by people younger than I,
by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.
2 A lot of good they are to me—
those worn-out wretches!
3 They are gaunt from poverty and hunger.
They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands.
4 They pluck wild greens from among the bushes
and eat from the roots of broom trees.
5 They are driven from human society,
and people shout at them as if they were thieves.
6 So now they live in frightening ravines,
in caves and among the rocks.
7 They sound like animals howling among the bushes,
huddled together beneath the nettles.
8 They are nameless fools,
outcasts from society.
9 “And now they mock me with vulgar songs!
They taunt me!
10 They despise me and won’t come near me,
except to spit in my face.
11 For God has cut my bowstring.
He has humbled me,
so they have thrown off all restraint.
12 These outcasts oppose me to my face.
They send me sprawling
and lay traps in my path.
13 They block my road
and do everything they can to destroy me.
They know I have no one to help me.
14 They come at me from all directions.
They jump on me when I am down.
15 I live in terror now.
My honor has blown away in the wind,
and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud.
16 “And now my life seeps away.
Depression haunts my days.
17 At night my bones are filled with pain,
which gnaws at me relentlessly.
18 With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt.[a]
He grips me by the collar of my coat.
19 He has thrown me into the mud.
I’m nothing more than dust and ashes.
20 “I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer.
I stand before you, but you don’t even look.
21 You have become cruel toward me.
You use your power to persecute me.
22 You throw me into the whirlwind
and destroy me in the storm.
23 And I know you are sending me to my death—
the destination of all who live.
24 “Surely no one would turn against the needy
when they cry for help in their trouble.
25 Did I not weep for those in trouble?
Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?
26 So I looked for good, but evil came instead.
I waited for the light, but darkness fell.
27 My heart is troubled and restless.
Days of suffering torment me.
28 I walk in gloom, without sunlight.
I stand in the public square and cry for help.
29 Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals
and a companion to owls.
30 My skin has turned dark,
and my bones burn with fever.
31 My harp plays sad music,
and my flute accompanies those who weep.
Footnotes
- 30:18 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads hand, my garment is disfigured.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
