Job 30

1But 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.footnote a

2Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?

3For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.footnote bfootnote c

4Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.

5They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;)

6To dwell in the clifts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks.footnote d

7Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.

8They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.footnote e

9And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.

10They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.footnote f

11Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.

12Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.

13They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper.

14They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.

15Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.footnote g

16And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.

17My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.

18By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.

19He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.

20I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not.

21Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.footnote hfootnote i

22Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance.footnote j

23For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.

24Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.footnote k

25Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?footnote l

26When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.

27My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.

28I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation.

29I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.footnote m

30My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.

31My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.

Job’s Honor Turned to Contempt

1“But now they mock me,men younger than I am,whose fathers I would have refusedto put with my sheep dogs. 2What use to me was the strength of their hands,since their vigor had left them? 3Gaunt from poverty and hunger,they gnawed the dry land,and the desolate wasteland by night. 4They plucked mallow among the shrubs,and the roots of the broom tree were their food.footnote a 5They were banished from among men,shouted at like thieves, 6so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis,among the rocks and in holes in the ground. 7They cried out among the shrubsand huddled beneath the nettles. 8A senseless and nameless brood,they were driven off the land.

9And now they mock me in song;I have become a byword among them. 10They abhor me and keep far from me;they do not hesitate to spit in my face. 11Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me,they have cast off restraintfootnote bin my presence. 12The rabble arises at my right;they lay snares for my feetand build siege ramps against me. 13They tear up my path;they profit from my destruction,with no one to restrain them.footnote c 14They advance as through a wide breach;through the ruins they keep rolling in.

Job’s Prosperity Becomes Calamity

15Terrors are turned loose against me;they drive away my dignity as by the wind,and my prosperity has passed like a cloud. 16And now my soul is poured out within me;days of affliction grip me. 17Night pierces my bones,and my gnawing pains never rest. 18With great force He grasps my garment;footnote dHe seizes me by the collar of my tunic. 19He throws me into the mud,and I have become like dust and ashes.

20I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer;when I stand up, You merely look at me. 21You have ruthlessly turned on me;You oppose me with Your strong hand. 22You snatch me up into the windand drive me before it;You toss me aboutfootnote ein the storm. 23Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death,to the place appointed for all the living.

24Yet no one stretches out his hand against a ruined manwhen he cries for help in his distress. 25Have I not wept for those in trouble?Has my soul not grieved for the needy? 26But when I hoped for good, evil came;when I looked for light, darkness fell. 27I am churning within and cannot rest;days of affliction confront me. 28I go about blackened, but not by the sun.I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. 29I have become a brother of jackals,footnote fa companion of ostriches.footnote g 30My skin grows black and peels,and my bones burn with fever. 31My harp is tuned to mourningand my flute to the sound of weeping.