Job 30
Christian Standard Bible
30 But now they mock(A) me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs.
2 What use to me was the strength of their hands?
Their vigor had left them.
3 Emaciated from poverty and hunger,
they gnawed the dry land,
the desolate wasteland by night.
4 They plucked mallow[a](B) among the shrubs,
and the roots of the broom tree were their food.
5 They were banished from human society;
people shouted at them as if they were thieves.
6 They are living on the slopes of the wadis,
among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
7 They bray among the shrubs;
they huddle beneath the thistles.
8 Foolish(C) men, without even a name.
They were forced to leave the land.
9 Now I am mocked by their songs;(D)
I have become an object of scorn to them.
10 They despise me and keep their distance from me;(E)
they do not hesitate to spit(F) in my face.
11 Because God has loosened my[b] bowstring and oppressed me,
they have cast off restraint in my presence.(G)
12 The rabble[c] rise up at my right;
they trap[d] my feet
and construct their siege ramp[e] against me.(H)
13 They tear up my path;
they contribute to my destruction,(I)
without anyone to help them.
14 They advance as through a gaping breach;
they keep rolling in through the ruins.(J)
15 Terrors(K) are turned loose against me;
they chase my dignity away like the wind,
and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud.
16 Now my life is poured out before me,
and days of suffering(L) have seized me.
17 Night pierces my bones,
but my gnawing pains never rest.(M)
18 My clothing is distorted with great force;
he chokes me by the neck of my garment.[f]
19 He throws me into the mud,
and I have become like dust and ashes.(N)
20 I cry out to you for help, but you do not answer me;(O)
when I stand up, you merely look at me.
21 You have turned against me with cruelty;
you harass(P) me with your strong hand.
22 You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it;
you scatter me in the storm.(Q)
23 Yes, I know that you will lead me to death—
the place(R) appointed for all who live.
24 Yet no one would stretch out his hand
against a ruined person[g]
when he cries out to him for help
because of his distress.(S)
25 Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times?
Has my soul not grieved for the needy?(T)
26 But when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, darkness(U) came.
27 I am churning within[h] and cannot rest;
days of suffering confront me.
28 I walk about blackened, but not by the sun.[i]
I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.
29 I have become a brother to jackals
and a companion of ostriches.
30 My skin blackens and flakes off,[j]
and my bones burn with fever.(V)
31 My lyre is used for mourning
and my flute for the sound of weeping.(W)
Job 30
International Children’s Bible
30 “But now men who are younger than I make fun of me.
I would not have even let their fathers
sit with my sheep dogs.
2 Their hands had no strength to help me.
They had even lost their strength to work.
3 They were thin from being hungry and in need.
They wandered through the dry and ruined land at night.
4 They gathered desert plants by the brush for food.
They even ate the root of the broom tree.
5 They were forced to live away from other people.
People shouted at them as if they were thieves.
6 These young men had to live in dried up streambeds.
They lived in caves and among the rocks.
7 They howled like animals out among the bushes.
And they huddled together in the brush.
8 They are worthless people without names.
They were forced to leave the land.
9 “Now they make fun of me with songs.
My name has become a joke among them.
10 They hate me and stay far away from me.
But they do not mind spitting in my face.
11 God has taken away my strength and made me suffer.
So they attack me with all their anger.
12 On my right side they attack me like a mob.
They lay traps for my feet.
They prepare to attack me.
13 They break up my road.
They work to destroy me
without anyone stopping them.
14 They go forward as if through a hole in the wall.
They roll in among the ruins.
15 Great fears overwhelm me.
They blow my honor away as if by a great wind.
My safety disappears like a cloud.
16 “Now my life is almost over.
My days are full of suffering.
17 At night my bones ache.
Gnawing pains never stop.
18 In his great power God grabs hold of my clothing.
He chokes me with 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 turn on me without mercy.
You attack me with your powerful hand.
22 You snatch me up and throw me into the wind.
You toss me about in the storm.
23 I know you will bring me down to death.
You will bring me to the place where all living people must go.
24 “Surely no one would hurt a ruined man
when he cries for help in his time of trouble.
25 I have cried for those who are in trouble.
My soul has been very sad for poor people.
26 But when I hoped for good, only evil came to me.
When I looked for light, darkness came.
27 I never stop being upset inside.
Days of suffering are ahead of me.
28 I have become black, but not by the sun.
I stand up in public and cry for help.
29 It is as if I have become a brother to wild dogs
and a friend to ostriches.
30 My skin becomes black and peels off.
My body burns with fever.
31 My harp is tuned for singing a sad song.
And my flute is tuned for the sound of loud crying.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
