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.
Job 30
New Life Version
Job Keeps On Talking
30 “But now those who are younger than I make fun of me. I thought so little of their fathers that I did not want them with my sheep dogs. 2 Yes, what good could I get from the strength of their hands? Their strength was gone. 3 Their bodies are thin and in need of food. At night they bite the dry ground in the waste land. 4 They pick plants that taste of salt among the bushes. And they eat the root of the broom bush. 5 They are driven away from people. Men call out against them as if they were robbers. 6 So they live in valleys made by floods, in caves of the earth and of the rocks. 7 Among the bushes they cry out. They gather together under the thistles. 8 They are fools and they have no name. They have been driven out of the land.
9 “Now they make fun of me in song. They laugh at me. 10 They hate me and keep away from me, but they spit in my face. 11 Because God has made the string of my bow loose and has troubled me, they have thrown off their respect for me. 12 Their bad group comes to my right. They push me away and trip my feet, and make ways to destroy me. 13 They break up my path. They make trouble for me, and no one stops them. 14 They come as if through a wide hole in the wall, and roll on with much noise. 15 Fears come upon me. They go after my honor like the wind. And my well-being has passed away like a cloud.
16 “Now my soul is poured out within me. Days of trouble have taken hold of me. 17 Night cuts into my bones with pain. The pain keeps on and takes no rest. 18 My clothing is torn by a strong power. It pulls against me like the top of my coat. 19 God has thrown me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes. 20 I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me. I stand up, and You turn away from me. 21 You work against me. With the power of Your hand you make it hard for me. 22 You lift me up to the wind and make it carry me. You throw me around in the storm. 23 For I know that You will bring me to death, to the place for all the living.
24 “Yet does not one in a destroyed place put out his hand, and in his trouble cry out for help? 25 Have I not cried for the one whose life is hard? Was not my soul filled with sorrow for the poor? 26 When I expected good, then trouble came. When I waited for light, darkness came. 27 My heart is troubled and does not rest. Days of trouble are before me. 28 I go about full of sorrow without comfort. I stand up where the people are gathered and cry out for help. 29 I have become a brother to wild dogs, and a friend of ostriches. 30 My skin becomes black and falls from me. My bones burn because I am sick. 31 So my harp is turned to sorrow, and my horn to the sound of crying.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.