Job’s Present State Is Humiliating

30 “But now those younger than I (A)mock me,
Whose fathers I disdained 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 waste and desolation,
Who pluck [a]mallow by the bushes,
And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.
“They are driven from the community;
They shout against them as against a thief,
So that they dwell in dreadful [b]valleys,
In holes of the earth and of the rocks.
“Among the bushes they [c]cry out;
Under the nettles they are gathered together.
[d]Fools, even [e]those without a name,
They were scourged from the land.

“And now I have become their [f](B)taunt,
I have even become a (C)byword to them.
10 “They abhor me and stand aloof from me,
And they do not [g]refrain from (D)spitting at my face.
11 “Because [h]He has loosed [i]His [j]bowstring and (E)afflicted me,
They have cast off (F)the bridle before me.
12 “On the right hand their [k]brood arises;
They (G)thrust aside my feet (H)and build up against me their ways of destruction.
13 “They (I)break up my path,
They profit [l]from my destruction;
No one restrains them.
14 “As through a wide breach they come,
[m]Amid the tempest they roll on.
15 (J)Terrors are turned against me;
They pursue my [n]honor as the wind,
And my [o]prosperity has passed away (K)like a cloud.

16 “And now (L)my soul is poured out [p]within me;
Days of affliction have seized me.
17 “At night it pierces (M)my bones [q]within me,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.
18 “By a great force my garment is (N)distorted;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
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 turn Your attention against me.
21 “You have [r]become cruel to me;
With the might of Your hand You (Q)persecute me.
22 “You (R)lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride;
And You dissolve me 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 disaster therefore (U)cry out for help?
25 “Have I not (V)wept for the [s]one whose life is hard?
Was not my soul grieved for (W)the needy?
26 “When I (X)expected good, then evil came;
When I waited for light, (Y)then darkness came.
27 [t]I am seething (Z)within and cannot relax;
Days of affliction confront me.
28 “I go about [u](AA)mourning without comfort;
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 [v]on me,
And my (AE)bones burn with [w]fever.
31 “Therefore my (AF)harp [x]is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

Footnotes

  1. Job 30:4 I.e. 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 30:9 Lit song
  7. Job 30:10 Lit withhold spit from my face
  8. Job 30:11 Or they
  9. Job 30:11 Some mss read my
  10. Job 30:11 Or cord
  11. Job 30:12 Possibly sprout or offspring
  12. Job 30:13 Lit for
  13. Job 30:14 Lit Under
  14. Job 30:15 Or nobility
  15. Job 30:15 Or welfare
  16. Job 30:16 Lit upon
  17. Job 30:17 Lit from upon
  18. Job 30:21 Lit turned to be
  19. Job 30:25 Lit hard of day
  20. Job 30:27 Lit My inward parts are boiling
  21. Job 30:28 Or blackened, but not by the heat of the sun
  22. Job 30:30 Lit from upon
  23. Job 30:30 Lit heat
  24. Job 30:31 Lit becomes

Chapter 30

Now I Am the Laughingstock

“But now I am the laughingstock
    of people who are younger than I,
people whose fathers I would not have considered fit
    to put with the dogs guarding my flock.
Of what use to me was the strength of their hands?
    Their vigor had completely wasted away.
“Enfeebled by want and hunger,
    they gnawed roots in the wilderness,
    a gloomy place of dry and desolate ground.
They plucked saltwort and scrub for food,
    and they ate the roots of the broom tree.[a]
Cast out from human society
    and berated as thieves and pursued,
they were forced to live on the sides of ravines,
    in holes in the ground, and in clefts of rock.
Among the bushes you could hear them braying,
    huddled together under the nettles.
They are a vile and irresponsible brood,
    driven as outcasts from society.
“And these are the ones who speak mockingly about me;
    my name is a byword among them.
10 They abhor me and keep their distance from me;
    they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11 And since God has loosened my bowspring[b] and humbled me,
    they have ceased to have any restraint in my presence.
12 “The rabble attack in a mob on my right flank;
    they lay snares for my feet
    and raise their siege-ramps against me.
13 They advance through my crumbling defenses,
    blocking every means of escape,
    and no one restrains them.
14 They burst forward through a gaping breach
    and advance in waves.
15 Terrors surround me on all sides;
    my confidence disintegrates,
    and my hope of deliverance vanishes like a cloud.

God’s Severity[c]

16 “And now my life has begun to ebb away;
    my days are filled with grief and affliction.
17 During the night pain wracks my bones,
    and I suffer from ceaseless throbbing that allows me no respite.
18 God seizes my garment violently,
    grasping me by the collar of my tunic.
19 He has cast me into the mire,
    and I am covered with dust and ashes.
20 “I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer me;
    I stand before you, but you barely take notice.
21 You have turned with severity against me;
    with your strong hand you persecute me.
22 You lift me up and place me at the mercy of the wind,
    allowing me to be tossed about in the storm.
23 I know indeed that you will hand me over to death
    and to the place appointed for every living mortal.

Yet I Cannot Discover Why

24 “And yet should you not extend a hand
    to someone who pleads with you for help?
25 Did I not shed tears over the plight of the unfortunate?
    Was not my soul grieved for the destitute?
26 Yet when I hoped for good, only evil came;
    when I looked for light, there was only darkness.
27 My inward parts are in constant pain,
    and days of affliction torment me.
28 “I walk about dejected and without comfort;
    I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
29 I have become a brother to the jackal
    and a companion to the ostrich.
30 My skin has turned black and peels off my body,
    and my bones are scorched by heat.
31 My harp has been tuned to dirges,
    and my flute to the sounds of weeping.

Footnotes

  1. Job 30:4 The foods mentioned here (saltwort, scrub, and roots of the broom tree) were the fare of those in extreme poverty.
  2. Job 30:11 Loosened my bowspring: i.e., done away with my strength.
  3. Job 30:16 Little by little Job comes back to his essential distress: the fierce hostility of a God who pursues him relentlessly. His faith survives but in a greatly wounded state.

悲叹现在的处境

30 “但现在年纪比我小的人都笑我;

我不容许他们的父亲与我羊群的犬只为伴。

他们的气力已经衰退了,

他们两手的力量对我有甚么益处呢?

他们因穷乏与饥饿而消瘦,

在黑夜荒废与荒凉之地咀嚼旷野的干草;

他们在草丛中采摘咸草,

以罗腾树根作食物。

他们从人群中被赶出去,

人追喊他们如追喊贼一样,

以致他们住在惊吓谷之中,

在地洞和岩穴之间;

他们在草丛中间喊叫,

在杂草之下集合起来。

他们都是愚顽人、下流人的子孙,

被人鞭打逐出境外。

现在他们以我为歌曲,

我竟成了他们的笑柄。

10 他们厌恶我,远远地离开我,

又不住吐唾沫在我脸上,

11 因为 神把我的弓弦松开,叫我受苦,

他们就在我面前任意妄为(“任意妄为”直译是“解开辔头”)。

12 一窝暴民在我右边兴起,

推开我的脚,筑起灾难的路攻击我。

13 他们拆毁了我的路,

没有别人的帮助也能毁灭我;

14 他们闯进来如闯大破口,

在废墟之中辊过来,

15 惊骇临到我的身上,

驱逐我的尊严如风吹一般,

我的好景像云一样过去。

诉说 神不听他的呼求

16 现在我的心伤恸有如倒了出来,

苦难的日子把我抓住。

17 夜间痛苦刺透我的骨头,

疼痛不止,不住地咀嚼我。

18 我的衣服因 神的大力变了形,

他的大力如外衣的领口把我束紧。

19  神把我扔在泥中,

我就像尘土和炉灰一般。

20  神啊!我向你呼求,你却不应允我,

我站起来,你也不理我。

21 你变成待我残忍,

用你大能的手迫害我,

22 你把我提到风中,使我被风刮去,

使我在暴风中消散。

23 我知道你必使我归回死地,

归到那为众生所定的阴宅。

24 然而人跌倒,怎会不伸手?

人遇灾祸,怎会不呼救呢?

内心的迷惘与痛苦

25 艰难过日的,我不是为他哀哭;

贫穷的,我不是为他忧愁吗?

26 我希望得福乐,灾祸就来了;

我等候光明,幽暗就到了。

27 我的心肠沸腾、不安,

痛苦的日子临到我。

28 我四处行走,全身发黑,

并不是因为日晒;

我在会中站着呼求。

29 我与野狗为兄弟,

又与鸵鸟作同伴。

30 我的皮肤发黑脱落,

我的骨头因热发烧,

31 所以我的琴音变为哀音,

我的箫声变为哭声。”

30 “But now they mock me,(A)
    men younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
    to put with my sheep dogs.(B)
Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,
    since their vigor had gone from them?
Haggard from want and hunger,
    they roamed[a] the parched land(C)
    in desolate wastelands(D) at night.(E)
In the brush they gathered salt herbs,(F)
    and their food[b] was the root of the broom bush.(G)
They were banished from human society,
    shouted at as if they were thieves.
They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,
    among the rocks and in holes in the ground.(H)
They brayed(I) among the bushes(J)
    and huddled in the undergrowth.
A base and nameless brood,(K)
    they were driven out of the land.(L)

“And now those young men mock me(M) in song;(N)
    I have become a byword(O) among them.
10 They detest me(P) and keep their distance;
    they do not hesitate to spit in my face.(Q)
11 Now that God has unstrung my bow(R) and afflicted me,(S)
    they throw off restraint(T) in my presence.
12 On my right(U) the tribe[c] attacks;
    they lay snares(V) for my feet,(W)
    they build their siege ramps against me.(X)
13 They break up my road;(Y)
    they succeed in destroying me.(Z)
    ‘No one can help him,’ they say.
14 They advance as through a gaping breach;(AA)
    amid the ruins they come rolling in.
15 Terrors(AB) overwhelm me;(AC)
    my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
    my safety vanishes like a cloud.(AD)

16 “And now my life ebbs away;(AE)
    days of suffering grip me.(AF)
17 Night pierces my bones;
    my gnawing pains never rest.(AG)
18 In his great power(AH) God becomes like clothing to me[d];
    he binds me like the neck of my garment.
19 He throws me into the mud,(AI)
    and I am reduced to dust and ashes.(AJ)

20 “I cry out to you,(AK) God, but you do not answer;(AL)
    I stand up, but you merely look at me.
21 You turn on me ruthlessly;(AM)
    with the might of your hand(AN) you attack me.(AO)
22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;(AP)
    you toss me about in the storm.(AQ)
23 I know you will bring me down to death,(AR)
    to the place appointed for all the living.(AS)

24 “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man(AT)
    when he cries for help in his distress.(AU)
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble?(AV)
    Has not my soul grieved for the poor?(AW)
26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;
    when I looked for light, then came darkness.(AX)
27 The churning inside me never stops;(AY)
    days of suffering confront me.(AZ)
28 I go about blackened,(BA) but not by the sun;
    I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.(BB)
29 I have become a brother of jackals,(BC)
    a companion of owls.(BD)
30 My skin grows black(BE) and peels;(BF)
    my body burns with fever.(BG)
31 My lyre is tuned to mourning,(BH)
    and my pipe(BI) to the sound of wailing.

Footnotes

  1. Job 30:3 Or gnawed
  2. Job 30:4 Or fuel
  3. Job 30:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  4. Job 30:18 Hebrew; Septuagint power he grasps my clothing