Job 30
World English Bible
30 “But now those who are younger than I have me in derision,
whose fathers I considered unworthy to put with my sheep dogs.
2 Of what use is the strength of their hands to me,
men in whom ripe age has perished?
3 They are gaunt from lack and famine.
They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of waste and desolation.
4 They pluck salt herbs by the bushes.
The roots of the broom tree are their food.
5 They are driven out from among men.
They cry after them as after a thief,
6 so that they live in frightful valleys,
and in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 They bray among the bushes.
They are gathered together under the nettles.
8 They are children of fools, yes, children of wicked men.
They were flogged out of the land.
9 “Now I have become their song.
Yes, I am a byword to them.
10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me,
and don’t hesitate to spit in my face.
11 For he has untied his cord, and afflicted me;
and they have thrown off restraint before me.
12 On my right hand rise the rabble.
They thrust aside my feet.
They cast their ways of destruction up against me.
13 They mar my path.
They promote my destruction
without anyone’s help.
14 As through a wide breach they come.
They roll themselves in amid the ruin.
15 Terrors have turned on me.
They chase my honor as the wind.
My welfare has passed away as a cloud.
16 “Now my soul is poured out within me.
Days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 In the night season my bones are pierced in me,
and the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
18 My garment is disfigured by great force.
It binds me about as the collar of my tunic.
19 He has cast me into the mire.
I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you, and you do not answer me.
I stand up, and you gaze at me.
21 You have turned to be cruel to me.
With the might of your hand you persecute me.
22 You lift me up to the wind, and drive me with it.
You dissolve me in the storm.
23 For I know that you will bring me to death,
to the house appointed for all living.
24 “However doesn’t one stretch out a hand in his fall?
Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
25 Didn’t I weep for him who was in trouble?
Wasn’t my soul grieved for the needy?
26 When I looked for good, then evil came.
When I waited for light, darkness came.
27 My heart is troubled, and doesn’t rest.
Days of affliction have come on 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 grows black and peels from me.
My bones are burned with heat.
31 Therefore my harp has turned to mourning,
and my pipe into the voice of those who weep.
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
International Standard Version
Job Describes His Current Status in Life
30 “But now they mock me;
men who are far younger than I,
whose fathers I would have hated
to entrust with my own sheep dogs.
2 Furthermore, what could I have gained
from men whose strength is gone?
3 Unproductive due to poverty[a] and hunger,
they could only scratch in parched soil,
devastated and desolated.
4 “They would pluck off herbs from salt marshes to eat;
and roots of the broom shrub[b] for food.
5 Driven away from human company,
they were shouted at as though they were thieves.
6 They lived in the most dangerous of ravines,
in holes in the ground, and among rocks.
7 They bray like donkeys[c] among the bushes
and huddle together under the desert weeds.
8 Sons of fools and of uncertain reputation,[d]
they have been driven from the land by scourging.”
Job Presents the Actions of the Mockers
9 “Now, I’ve become the object of their mocking melodies;[e]
I’m nothing but a fool’s proverb to them!
10 They abhor me—they keep their distance from me;
but they don’t refrain from spitting at the sight of me.
11 But God[f] has loosened his cord and afflicted me;
so they’ve cast off all restraints in my presence.
12 “A wretched crowd ambushes me to my right;
they trip my feet;
they build up their path of calamity for me.
13 They tear up my pathways;
they profit from my destruction,
and they need no help to do this!
14 They come like those who breach through a wall;
as everything crashes around me they’ll roll on and on!
15 My greatest fears have overcome me;
my honor is assaulted as though by a wind storm;
my prosperity evaporates like a morning cloud.”
Job Accuses God of Mistreating Him
16 “Now, my soul pours itself out;
the time of my affliction has taken control of me.
17 The night racks my bones;
and the pain that gnaws on me will not rest.
18 My clothes are disheveled by his forceful treatment of me;[g]
he restricts my movement like the collar of my cloak.
19 “He tossed me into the mire;
I’ve become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry for help to you,
but you won’t answer me;
I stand still,
but you only look at me.
21 You changed toward me, and now you’re cruel to me;
with your mighty hand you are persecuting me;
22 you carried me off in a wind storm,
making me ride on it
while you toss me about as the storm roars around me.
23 I know that you’re about to kill me,
so I’m about to go to the house that’s appointed for all the living.”
Job Lists His Hopes Despite His Deplorable Condition
24 “Surely he won’t stretch his hand against the needy, will he,
especially if they cry to him in their calamity?
25 Haven’t I wept for the one who is going through hard times?
Haven’t I grieved for the needy?
26 I have hoped for good, but evil came instead;
I have hoped for light, but darkness came.
27 I’m boiling mad inside, and I won’t remain silent;
the time for my affliction to confront me has arrived.
28 “In growing darkness, I walked without sunlight;
I stood in the congregation to cry for help.
29 I’ve become a brother to jackals,
and a friend to ostriches.
30 My skin turns black all over me;
and my bones seem burned from the heat.
31 But my harp is in mourning;
my flute plays only songs for those who are weeping.”
Footnotes
- Job 30:3 Or want
- Job 30:4 I.e. a desert bush native to Israel whose bitter roots could be harvested by the destitute and eaten when food was scarce
- Job 30:7 The Heb. lacks like donkeys
- Job 30:8 Or and without a name
- Job 30:9 Lit. their neginnoth; i.e. derogatory songs composed to mock Job
- Job 30:11 Lit. he
- Job 30:18 The Heb. lacks of me
by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
