Job 30
Common English Bible
Mockers
30 But now those younger than I mock me,
whose fathers I refused to put beside my sheepdogs.
2 Their strength, what’s it to me,
their energy having perished?
3 Stiff from want and hunger,
those who gnaw dry ground,
yesterday’s desolate waste,
4 who pluck off the leaves on a bush,
the root of the broom—
a shrub is their food.
5 People banish them from society,
shout at them as if to a thief;
6 so they live in scary ravines,
holes in the ground and rocks.
7 Among shrubs, they make sounds like donkeys;
they are huddled together under a bush,
8 children of fools and the nameless,
whipped out of the land.
Specific mocking behavior
9 And now I’m their song;
I’m their cliché!
10 They detest me, keep their distance,
don’t withhold spit from my face.
11 Because he loosened my bowstring and afflicted me,
they throw off restraint in my presence.
12 On the right, upstarts[a] rise and target my feet,
build their siege ramps against me,
13 destroy my road, profit from my fall,
with no help.
14 They advance as if through a destroyed wall;[b]
they roll along beneath the ruin.
15 Terrors crash upon me;
they sweep away my honor like wind;
my safety disappears like a cloud.
Accusation against God
16 Now my life is poured out on me;
days of misery have seized me.
17 At night he bores my bones;
my gnawing pain won’t rest.
18 With great force he grasps[c] my clothing;[d]
it binds me like the neck of my shirt.
19 He hurls me into mud;
I’m a cliché, like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you, and you don’t answer;
I stand up, but you just look at me.
21 You are cruel to me,
attack me with the strength of your hand.
22 You lift me to the wind and make me ride;
you melt me in its roar.
23 I know you will return me to death,
the house appointed for all the living.
Job’s agony
24 Surely he won’t strike someone in ruins
if in distress he cries out to him,
25 if I didn’t weep for those who have a difficult day
or my soul grieve for the needy;
26 for I awaited good, but evil came;
I expected light, but gloom arrived.
27 My insides, churning, are never quiet;
days of affliction confront me.
28 I walk in the dark, lacking sunshine;
I rise in the assembly and cry out.
29 I have become a brother to jackals,
a companion to young ostriches.
30 My skin is charred;
my bones are scorched by the heat.
31 My lyre is for mourning,
my flute, a weeping sound.
Job 30
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 30
1 But now they hold me in derision
who are younger than I,(A)
Whose fathers I should have disdained
to rank with the dogs of my flock.
2 Such strength as they had meant nothing to me;
their vigor had perished.
3 In want and emaciating hunger(B)
they fled to the parched lands:
to the desolate wasteland by night.
4 They plucked saltwort[a] and shrubs;
the roots of the broom plant were their food.
5 They were banished from the community,
with an outcry like that against a thief—
6 To dwell on the slopes of the wadies,
in caves of sand and stone;
7 Among the bushes they brayed;
under the nettles they huddled together.
8 Irresponsible, of no account,
they were driven out of the land.
9 Yet now they sing of me in mockery;
I have become a byword among them.(C)
10 They abhor me, they stand aloof,
they do not hesitate to spit in my face!
11 [b]Because he has loosened my bowstring and afflicted me,
they have thrown off restraint in my presence.
12 On my right the young rabble rise up;
they trip my feet,
they build their approaches for my ruin.
13 They tear up my path,
they promote my ruin,
no helper is there against them.
14 As through a wide breach they advance;
amid the uproar they come on in waves;
15 terrors roll over me.
My dignity is driven off like the wind,
and my well-being vanishes like a cloud.
16 And now my life ebbs away from me,
days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 [c]At night he pierces my bones,
my sinews have no rest.
18 With great difficulty I change my clothes,
the collar of my tunic fits around my waist.
19 He has cast me into the mire;
I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you, but you do not answer me;(D)
I stand, but you take no notice.
21 You have turned into my tormentor,
and with your strong hand you attack me.
22 You raise me up and drive me before the wind;
I am tossed about by the tempest.
23 Indeed I know that you will return me to death
to the house destined for everyone alive.(E)
24 Yet should not a hand be held out
to help a wretched person in distress?
25 Did I not weep for the hardships of others;
was not my soul grieved for the poor?(F)
26 Yet when I looked for good, evil came;
when I expected light, darkness came.
27 My inward parts seethe and will not be stilled;
days of affliction have overtaken me.
28 I go about in gloom, without the sun;
I rise in the assembly and cry for help.
29 I have become a brother to jackals,
a companion to ostriches.
30 My blackened skin falls away from me;
my very frame is scorched by the heat.
31 My lyre is tuned to mourning,
and my reed pipe to sounds of weeping.
Footnotes
- 30:4 Saltwort: found in salt marshes and very sour to the taste; eaten by the extremely poor as a cooked vegetable. Broom plant: the juniper or brushwood; cf. Ps 120:4; a figure of bitterness and poverty, because of its bitter-tasting roots which are practically inedible.
- 30:11 God is the subject of the verbs. Loosened my bowstring: i.e., disarmed and disabled me.
- 30:17–23 Job here refers to God’s harsh treatment of him. Cf. 16:9–17; 19:6–12.
约伯记 30
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
哀叹今日的痛苦
30 “但如今，比我年少的人竟嘲笑我，
他们的父亲曾被我鄙视，
连我的牧羊犬都不如。
2 他们精力衰竭，
对我有何益处？
3 他们贫穷饥饿，瘦弱不堪，
夜间在干旱荒凉之地啃食。
4 他们在草丛中拔咸草充饥，
以罗腾树根为食。
5 他们被赶离人群，
像贼一样被喝斥。
6 他们只好住在荒谷，
在地洞和岩穴栖身；
7 在杂草间嚎叫如兽，
在树丛中蜷缩一团。
8 他们是愚昧无名之辈，
被人用鞭子赶出境外。
9 “如今，他们竟唱歌讽刺我，
我成了他们的笑柄。
10 他们厌恶我，不愿靠近我，
任意朝我脸上吐唾沫。
11 因为上帝苦待我，使我毫无力量，
他们才在我面前肆无忌惮。
12 这些无赖从右边攻击我，
迫使我逃亡，
他们展开攻势要毁灭我。
13 他们截断我的路，
想方设法害我，无人相助。
14 他们冲破防线，
从废墟中向我袭来。
15 恐惧笼罩着我，
我的尊荣随风而去，
我的荣华如云消散。
16 “如今我的生命将尽，
痛苦的日子抓住我。
17 夜间我的骨头刺痛，
如被啃噬，无休无止。
18 上帝猛力抓住我的衣服，
紧紧地揪住我的衣领。
19 祂把我扔进淤泥，
使我如尘埃灰烬。
20 “上帝啊！我向你呼求，你不回应；
我站起来，你也不理睬。
21 你变得对我残酷无情，
用你大能的手迫害我，
22 把我提到风中，让我被风吹走，
被暴风抛来抛去。
23 我知道你要带我去死亡之地，
那是你为众生所定的归宿。
24 “诚然，不幸的人在困境中呼救，
无人会伸手加害他。
25 难道我不曾为受苦的人哭泣，
我的心不曾为穷困者悲伤吗？
26 我盼望幸福，来的却是灾祸；
我期待光明，来的却是黑暗。
27 我心里一直烦乱不安，
苦难的日子迎面袭来。
28 我皮肤发黑，不是因为日晒，
我在会众中站起来呼救。
29 我成了豺狼的兄弟，
驼鸟的伙伴。
30 我的皮肤发黑、脱落，
我的骨头如被烤焦。
31 我的琴唱出哀乐，
我的箫奏出悲鸣。
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