Job 30-31
New American Standard Bible
Job’s Present State Is Humiliating
30 “But now those who are younger than I (A)mock me,
Whose fathers I refused to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.
3 From poverty and famine they are gaunt,
They who gnaw at the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,
4 Who pluck saltweed by the bushes,
And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.
5 They are driven from the community;
They shout against them as against a thief,
6 So that they live on the slopes of ravines,
In holes in the ground and among the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they [a]cry out;
Under the weeds they are gathered together.
8 Worthless [b]fellows, even [c]those without a name,
They were cast out from the land.
9 “And now I have become their [d](B)taunt,
And I have become a [e](C)byword to them.
10 They loathe me and stand aloof from me,
And they do not [f]refrain from (D)spitting in my face.
11 Because He has undone [g]my [h]bowstring and (E)afflicted me,
They have cast off (F)the bridle before me.
12 On the right hand their [i]mob arises;
They (G)push aside my feet (H)and pile up their ways of destruction against me.
13 They (I)break up my path,
They promote my destruction;
No one restrains them.
14 As through a wide gap they come,
[j]Amid the storm they roll on.
15 (J)Sudden terrors are turned upon me;
They chase away my dignity like the wind,
And my [k]prosperity has passed away (K)like a cloud.
16 “And now (L)my soul is poured out [l]within me;
Days of misery have seized me.
17 At night it pierces (M)my bones [m]within me,
And my gnawing pains do not rest.
18 By a great force my garment is (N)distorted;
It ties me up like the collar of my coat.
19 He has thrown 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 [n]become cruel to me;
With the strength of Your hand You (Q)persecute me.
22 You (R)lift me up to the wind and make me ride it;
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 one in a heap of ruins not reach out with his hand,
Or in his disaster does he not (U)cry out for help?
25 Have I not (V)wept for the [o]one whose life is hard?
Was my soul not grieved for (W)the needy?
26 When I (X)expected good, evil came;
When I waited for light, (Y)darkness came.
27 [p]I am seething (Z)within and cannot rest;
Days of misery confront me.
28 I go about [q](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 [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.
Job Asserts His Integrity
31 “I have made a covenant with my (AG)eyes;
How then could I look at a virgin?
2 And what is (AH)the portion of God from above,
Or the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Is it not (AI)disaster to the criminal,
And misfortune to (AJ)those who practice injustice?
4 Does He not (AK)see my ways,
And (AL)count all my steps?
5 “If I have (AM)walked with deception,
And my foot has hurried after deceit,
6 Let Him (AN)weigh me with [u]accurate scales,
And let God know (AO)my integrity.
7 If my step has (AP)turned from the way,
Or my heart [v]followed my eyes,
Or if any (AQ)spot has stuck to my hands,
8 Let me (AR)sow and another eat,
And let my [w](AS)crops be uprooted.
9 “If my heart has been (AT)enticed by a woman,
Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,
10 May my wife (AU)grind grain for another,
And let (AV)others [x]kneel down over her.
11 For that would be a (AW)lustful crime;
Moreover, it would be (AX)wrongdoing punishable by judges.
12 For it would be (AY)fire that consumes to [y](AZ)Abaddon,
And would (BA)uproot all my [z]increase.
13 “If I have (BB)rejected the claim of my male or female slaves
When they filed a complaint against me,
14 What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, how am I to answer Him?
15 Did (BC)He who made me in the womb not make him,
And the same one create us in the womb?
16 “If I have kept (BD)the poor from their desire,
Or have caused the eyes of (BE)the widow to fail,
17 Or have (BF)eaten my morsel alone,
And (BG)the orphan has not [aa]shared it
18 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
And from [ab]my infancy I guided her),
19 If I have seen anyone perish (BH)for lack of clothing,
Or that (BI)the needy had no covering,
20 If his waist has not [ac]thanked me,
And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 If I have lifted up my hand against (BJ)the orphan,
Because I saw [ad]I had support (BK)in the gate,
22 May my shoulder fall from its [ae]socket,
And my (BL)arm be broken off [af]at the elbow.
23 For (BM)disaster from God is a terror to me,
And because of (BN)His majesty I can do nothing.
24 “If I have put my confidence in (BO)gold,
And called fine gold my trust,
25 If I have (BP)gloated because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had obtained so much;
26 If I have (BQ)looked at the [ag]sun when it shone,
Or the moon going in splendor,
27 And my heart was secretly enticed,
And my hand [ah]threw a kiss from my mouth,
28 That too would have been (BR)a guilty deed calling for [ai]judgment,
For I would have (BS)denied God above.
29 “Have I (BT)rejoiced at the misfortune of my enemy,
Or become excited when evil found him?
30 [aj]No, (BU)I have not [ak]allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for his life in (BV)a curse.
31 Have the people of my tent not said,
‘Who can [al]find one who has not been (BW)satisfied with his meat’?
32 The stranger has not spent the night outside,
For I have opened my doors to the [am]traveler.
33 Have I (BX)covered my wrongdoings like a man,
By hiding my guilt in my shirt pocket,
34 Because I (BY)feared the great multitude
And the contempt of families terrified me,
And I kept silent and did not go out of doors?
35 Oh that I had one to hear me!
Here is my [an]signature;
(BZ)Let the Almighty answer me!
And the indictment which my (CA)adversary has written,
36 I would certainly carry it on my shoulder,
I would tie it to myself like a garland.
37 I would declare to Him (CB)the number of my steps;
Like (CC)a prince, I would approach Him.
38 “If my (CD)land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;
39 If I have (CE)eaten its [ao]fruit without money,
Or have (CF)caused [ap]its owners to lose their lives,
40 May the (CG)thorn-bush [aq]grow instead of wheat,
And stinkweed instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Footnotes
- Job 30:7 Or bray
- Job 30:8 Lit sons
- Job 30:8 Lit sons
- Job 30:9 Lit song
- Job 30:9 I.e., prob. a word of insult
- Job 30:10 Lit withhold spit from my face
- Job 30:11 Some mss His
- Job 30:11 Or cord
- Job 30:12 Or youth arise
- Job 30:14 Lit Under
- Job 30:15 Or welfare
- Job 30:16 Lit upon
- Job 30:17 Lit from upon
- Job 30:21 Lit turned to be
- Job 30:25 Lit hard of day
- Job 30:27 Lit My inward parts are boiling
- Job 30:28 Or blackened, but not by the heat of the sun
- Job 30:30 Lit from upon
- Job 30:30 Lit heat
- Job 30:31 Lit becomes
- Job 31:6 Lit just
- Job 31:7 Lit walked after
- Job 31:8 Or offspring
- Job 31:10 I.e., have sexual relations with her
- Job 31:12 I.e., the place of destruction
- Job 31:12 Or yield
- Job 31:17 Lit eaten from it
- Job 31:18 Lit my mother’s womb
- Job 31:20 Lit blessed; i.e., for clothing
- Job 31:21 Lit my help
- Job 31:22 Lit neck-joint
- Job 31:22 Lit from the bone of the upper arm
- Job 31:26 Lit light
- Job 31:27 Lit kissed my mouth
- Job 31:28 Lit judges
- Job 31:30 Lit And
- Job 31:30 Lit given my palate
- Job 31:31 Lit give
- Job 31:32 MT way
- Job 31:35 Lit mark
- Job 31:39 Lit strength
- Job 31:39 Lit the soul of its owners to expire
- Job 31:40 Lit come forth
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