Job 30
King James Version
30 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
2 Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?
3 For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.
4 Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.
5 They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;)
6 To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.
8 They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.
9 And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.
10 They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.
11 Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.
12 Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.
13 They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper.
14 They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.
15 Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.
16 And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
17 My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.
18 By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: 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 hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not.
21 Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.
22 Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance.
23 For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.
24 Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.
25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
27 My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.
28 I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation.
29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
30 My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.
31 My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.
Job 30
Expanded Bible
30 “But now those who are younger than I
·make fun of [laugh at] me.
I would ·not have even [L have disdained to] let their fathers
sit with my sheep dogs.
2 What use did I have for their strength
since they had lost their ·strength [vigor] to work [C vv. 2–8 describe the young men who torment Job]?
3 They were thin from hunger
and ·wandered the dry and ruined land at night [or they gnawed the desert on the brink of desolation and destruction].
4 They ·gathered desert plants [plucked mallow] among the brush
and ·ate [or warmed themselves on] the root of the broom tree.
5 They were ·forced to live away [driven out] from people;
people shouted at them as if they were thieves.
6 They lived ·in dried-up streambeds [on the slopes of the wadis],
in ·caves, and among the rocks [dusty and rocky holes].
7 They howled like animals among the bushes
and huddled together ·in [or under] the brush.
8 They are ·worthless people without names [disreputable children of fools]
and were ·forced to leave the land [L whipped off the land/earth].
9 “Now ·they make fun of me with songs [I am the object of their melodious taunts];
my name is a ·joke [byword] among them.
10 They hate me and ·stay far away [keep their distance] from me,
but they do not mind spitting in my face.
11 God has ·taken away my strength [L loosened my bowstring] and ·made me suffer [humiliated me],
so they ·attack me with all their anger [L have removed all restraint before me].
12 On my right side they rise up like a mob.
They ·lay traps for my feet [L take my feet out from under me]
and ·prepare to attack me [L build up paths for my calamity].
13 They ·break [tear] up my road
and ·work to destroy me [or they profit from my ruin],
and ·no one helps me [or they need no help].
14 They come at me as if through a ·hole in the wall [wide breech],
and they roll in among the ruins.
15 Great fears ·overwhelm [or transform] me.
They blow my honor away as if by a great wind,
and my ·safety [or hope of rescue] disappears like a cloud.
16 “Now my life is ·almost over [L poured out in me];
my days are full of suffering.
17 At night my bones ache;
gnawing pains ·never stop [or do not let me lie down to sleep].
18 In his great power ·God [L he] grabs hold of my clothing
and ·chokes me with [or seizes me by] the collar of my coat.
19 He throws me into the mud,
and I become like dirt and ashes.
20 “I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer;
I stand up, but you just look at me.
21 You have turned on me ·without mercy [with cruelty];
with your powerful hand you ·attacked [L hate] me.
22 You snatched me up and ·threw me into [L made me ride] the wind
and ·tossed me about [made me reel] in the storm.
23 I know you will bring me down to death,
to the ·place where all living people must go [L house appointed for all the living].
24 “Surely no one would hurt [or Should not one send his hand out to help…?] those who are ruined
when they cry for help in their time of trouble.
25 ·I cried [L Do I not cry…?] for those ·who were in trouble [whose day was hard];
·I have been very sad [L don’t I have pity…?] for ·poor [needy] people.
26 But when I hoped for ·good [or the best], only ·evil [or the worst] came to me;
when I ·looked [waited] for light, darkness came.
27 ·I never stop being upset [L My insides are brought to a boil and not stilled];
days of ·suffering [affliction] are ahead of me.
28 ·I have turned black, but not by the sun [or I walk around mourning, without passion].
I stand up in public and cry for help.
29 I have become a brother to ·wild dogs [jackals]
and a friend to ·ostriches [or eagle owls; C animals that live in the desolate wilderness].
30 My skin has become black and peels off,
as my ·body [L bones] burns with ·fever [heat].
31 My ·harp [lyre] is tuned to sing a sad song,
and my ·flute [reed pipe] is tuned to moaning.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.