Job’s Wealth Now Poverty

30 “But now they mock at me, men [a]younger than I,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me?
Their vigor has perished.
They are gaunt from want and famine,
Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste,
Who pluck [b]mallow by the bushes,
And broom tree roots for their food.
They were driven out from among men,
They shouted at them as at a thief.
They had to live in the clefts of the [c]valleys,
In [d]caves of the earth and the rocks.
Among the bushes they brayed,
Under the nettles they nestled.
They were sons of fools,
Yes, sons of vile men;
They were scourged from the land.

“And(A) now I am their taunting song;
Yes, I am their byword.
10 They abhor me, they keep far from me;
They do not hesitate (B)to spit in my face.
11 Because (C)He has loosed [e]my bowstring and afflicted me,
They have cast off restraint before me.
12 At my right hand the rabble arises;
They push away my feet,
And (D)they raise against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path,
They promote my calamity;
They have no helper.
14 They come as broad breakers;
Under the ruinous storm they roll along.
15 Terrors are turned upon me;
They pursue my honor as the wind,
And my prosperity has passed like a cloud.

16 “And(E) now my soul is (F)poured out because of my plight;
The days of affliction take hold of me.
17 My bones are pierced in me at night,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.
18 By great force my garment is disfigured;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
19 He has cast me into the mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.

20 “I (G)cry out to You, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You regard me.
21 But You have become cruel to me;
With the strength of Your hand You (H)oppose me.
22 You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it;
You spoil my success.
23 For I know that You will bring me to death,
And to the house (I)appointed for all living.

24 “Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins,
If they cry out when He destroys it.
25 (J)Have I not wept for him who was in trouble?
Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 (K)But when I looked for good, evil came to me;
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.
27 [f]My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest;
Days of affliction confront me.
28 (L)I go about mourning, but not in the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
29 (M)I am a brother of jackals,
And a companion of ostriches.
30 (N)My skin grows black and falls from me;
(O)My bones burn with fever.
31 My harp is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the voice of those who weep.

Footnotes

  1. Job 30:1 Lit. of fewer days
  2. Job 30:4 A plant of the salty marshes
  3. Job 30:6 wadis
  4. Job 30:6 Lit. holes
  5. Job 30:11 So with MT, Syr., Tg.; LXX, Vg. His
  6. Job 30:27 I seethe inside

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.
Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.
From poverty and famine they are gaunt,
They who gnaw at the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,
Who pluck saltweed 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 live on the slopes of ravines,
In holes in the ground and among the rocks.
Among the bushes they [a]cry out;
Under the weeds they are gathered together.
Worthless [b]fellows, even [c]those without a name,
They were cast out from the land.

“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.

Footnotes

  1. Job 30:7 Or bray
  2. Job 30:8 Lit sons
  3. Job 30:8 Lit sons
  4. Job 30:9 Lit song
  5. Job 30:9 I.e., prob. a word of insult
  6. Job 30:10 Lit withhold spit from my face
  7. Job 30:11 Some mss His
  8. Job 30:11 Or cord
  9. Job 30:12 Or youth arise
  10. Job 30:14 Lit Under
  11. Job 30:15 Or welfare
  12. Job 30:16 Lit upon
  13. Job 30:17 Lit from upon
  14. Job 30:21 Lit turned to be
  15. Job 30:25 Lit hard of day
  16. Job 30:27 Lit My inward parts are boiling
  17. Job 30:28 Or blackened, but not by the heat of the sun
  18. Job 30:30 Lit from upon
  19. Job 30:30 Lit heat
  20. Job 30:31 Lit becomes

Job’s Present State Is Humiliating

30 “But now those younger than I mock and laugh at me,
Whose fathers I refused to put with the sheepdogs of my flock.

“Indeed, how could the strength of their hands profit me?
Vigor had perished from them.

“They are gaunt with want and famine;
They gnaw the dry and barren ground by night in [the gloom of] waste and desolation.

“They pluck [and eat] [a]saltwort (mallows) among the bushes,
And their food is the root of the broom shrub.

“They are driven from the community;
They shout after them as after a thief.

“They must dwell on the slopes of [b]wadis
And in holes in the ground and in rocks.

“Among the bushes they cry out [like wild animals];
Beneath the prickly scrub they gather and huddle together.

They are the sons of [worthless and nameless] fools,
They have been driven out of the land.


“And now I have become [the subject of] their taunting;
Yes, I am a [c]byword and a laughingstock to them.
10 
“They hate me, they stand aloof from me,
And do not refrain from spitting in my face.
11 
“For God has loosed His bowstring [attacking me] and [He has] afflicted and humbled me;
They have cast off the bridle [of restraint] before me.
12 
“On my right the [rabble] brood rises;
They push my feet away, and they build up their ways of destruction against me [like an advancing army].
13 
“They break up and clutter my path [upsetting my plans],
They profit from my destruction;
No one restrains them.
14 
“As through a wide breach they come,
Amid the crash [of falling walls] they roll on [over me].
15 
“Terrors are turned upon me;
They chase away my honor and reputation like the wind,
And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

16 
“And now my soul is poured out within me;
The days of affliction have seized me.
17 
“My bones are pierced [with aching] in the night season,
And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
18 
“By the great force [of my disease] my garment (skin) is disfigured and blemished;
It binds about me [choking me] like the collar of my coat.
19 
“God has cast me into the mire [a swampland of crisis],
And I have become [worthless] like dust and ashes.
20 
“I cry to You for help, [Lord,] but You do not answer me;
I stand up, but You [only] gaze [indifferently] at me.
21 
“You have become harsh and cruel to me;
With the might of Your hand You [keep me alive only to] persecute me.
22 
“You lift me up on the wind and cause me to ride [upon it];
And You toss me about in the tempest and dissolve me in the storm.
23 
“For I know that You will bring me to death
And to the house of meeting [appointed] for all the living.

24 
“However, does not one falling in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand?
Or in his disaster [will he not] therefore cry out for help?
25 
“Did I not weep for one whose life was hard and filled with trouble?
Was not my heart grieved for the needy?
26 
“When I expected good, then came evil [to me];
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.
27 
“I am seething within and my heart is troubled and cannot rest;
Days of affliction come to meet me.
28 
“I go about mourning without comfort [my skin blackened by disease, not by the heat of the sun];
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
29 
“I am a brother to [howling] jackals,
And a companion to ostriches [which scream dismally].
30 
“My skin falls from me in blackened flakes,
And my bones are burned with fever.
31 
“Therefore my lyre (harp) is used for [the sound of] mourning,
And my flute for the [sound of the] voices of those who weep.

Footnotes

  1. Job 30:4 I.e. a plant of the salt marshes.
  2. Job 30:6 I.e. gullies or valleys made by torrents of water.
  3. Job 30:9 I.e. the object of cruel jokes.

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.