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30 “But now those younger than I (A)laugh at me,
Whose fathers I rejected even to put with the dogs of my flock.
Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.
From want and famine they are gaunt,
Who gnaw the dry ground by night in destruction and desolation,
Who pluck [a]mallow by the bushes,
And whose food is the root of the broom tree.
They are driven from the community;
They shout against them as against a thief,
So that they dwell in the slopes of the [b]valleys,
In holes of the dust and of the rocks.
Among the bushes they [c]cry out;
Under the nettles they are gathered together.
[d]Wicked fools, even [e]those without a name,
They were scourged from the land.

“And now I have become their mocking (B)song;
I have even become a (C)taunting word to them.
10 They abhor me and keep a distance from me,
And they do not [f]hold back from (D)spitting at my face.
11 Because [g]He has loosed [h]His [i]bowstring and (E)afflicted me,
They have thrust aside (F)their bridle before me.
12 On the right hand their [j]brood arises;
They (G)thrust aside my feet (H)and build up against me their ways to disaster.
13 They (I)break up my path;
They profit [k]from my destruction;
They have no helper.
14 As through a wide breach they come,
[l]Amid the storm they roll on.
15 (J)Terrors are turned against me;
They pursue my nobility as the wind,
And my hope for salvation has passed away (K)like a cloud.

16 “And now (L)my soul is poured out [m]within me;
Days of affliction have seized me.
17 At night it pierces (M)my bones [n]within me,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.
18 By a great force my garment is (N)distorted;
It seizes me about as the collar of my tunic.
19 He has cast me into the (O)mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I (P)cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You carefully consider how to be against me.
21 You have [o]become cruel to me;
With the might of Your hand You (Q)hunted me down.
22 You (R)lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride;
And You melt me away in a storm.
23 For I know that You (S)will bring me to death
And to the (T)house of meeting for all living.

24 “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
Or, in his upheaval, is there a (U)cry for help because of them?
25 Have I not (V)wept for the [p]one whose life is hard?
Was not my soul grieved for (W)the needy?
26 When I (X)hoped for good, then evil came;
When I waited for light, (Y)then thick darkness came.
27 [q]I am boiling (Z)within and cannot be silent;
Days of affliction confront me.
28 I go about (AA)darkened but not by the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and (AB)cry out for help.
29 I have become a brother to (AC)jackals
And a companion of ostriches.
30 My (AD)skin turns black [r]on me,
And my (AE)bones burn with [s]fever.
31 Therefore my (AF)harp [t]is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

Footnotes

  1. Job 30:4 Plant of the salt marshes
  2. Job 30:6 Or wadis
  3. Job 30:7 Or bray
  4. Job 30:8 Lit Sons of fools
  5. Job 30:8 Lit sons
  6. Job 30:10 Lit withhold spit from my face
  7. Job 30:11 Or they
  8. Job 30:11 Some mss my
  9. Job 30:11 Or cord
  10. Job 30:12 Possibly sprout, offspring
  11. Job 30:13 Lit for
  12. Job 30:14 Lit Under
  13. Job 30:16 Lit upon
  14. Job 30:17 Lit from upon
  15. Job 30:21 Lit turned to be
  16. Job 30:25 Lit hard of day
  17. Job 30:27 Lit My inward parts are boiling
  18. Job 30:30 Lit from upon
  19. Job 30:30 Lit heat
  20. Job 30:31 Lit becomes

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.

Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?

For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.

Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.

They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;)

To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks.

Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.

They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.

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.

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.
What could I gain from the strength of their hands,
    (C)men whose (D)vigor is gone?
Through want and hard hunger
    they (E)gnaw (F)the dry ground by night in (G)waste and desolation;
they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
    and the roots of the broom tree for their food.[a]
(H)They are driven out from human company;
    they shout after them as after a thief.
In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,
    in holes of the earth and of (I)the rocks.
Among the bushes they (J)bray;
    under (K)the nettles they huddle together.
A senseless, a nameless brood,
    they have been whipped out of the land.

“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.

Footnotes

  1. Job 30:4 Or warmth
  2. Job 30:11 Hebrew the bridle
  3. Job 30:19 Hebrew He
  4. Job 30:24 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain