Job 30
1 “But now men who are younger than I am make fun of me— men whose fathers I greatly despised, with the result that I would not even have allowed them to help my dogs guard my sheep.
But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, Whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 They were men who were old and (weak/worn out); so (what could I gain from them working for me?/I would have gained nothing from them working for me.) [RHQ]
Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished.
3 They were very poor and hungry, with the result that they chewed on roots [at night] in dry and desolate places.
They are gaunt with want and famine; They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of wasteness and desolation.
4 They pulled up plants in the desert [and ate them] and warmed themselves by [burning] the roots of broom trees.
They pluck salt-wort by the bushes; And the roots of the broom are their food.
5 Everyone shouted at them as though they were thieves and expelled them [from their areas].
They are driven forth from the midst [of men]; They cry after them as after a thief;
6 They were forced to live in caves in the hills, in holes in the ground, and in the sides of cliffs.
So that they dwell in frightful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 In the bushes they howled [like animals because they were hungry], and they huddled together under thornbushes.
Among the bushes they bray; Under the nettles they are gathered together.
8 They were people without good sense, whose names no one knows; they have been expelled from the land [where they were born].
[They are] children of fools, yea, children of base men; They were scourged out of the land.
9 “And now their [children] sing songs to make fun of me. They tell jokes about me.
And now I am become their song, Yea, I am a byword unto them.
10 They are disgusted with me, and they [usually] stay away from me, [but when they see me, ] they are happy to spit in my face.
They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, And spare not to spit in my face.
11 Because [it is as though] [MET] God has cut my bowstring, [he has caused me to be unable to defend myself, ] and he has humbled me, and my enemies have done to me whatever they wanted.
For he hath loosed his cord, and afflicted me; And they have cast off the bridle before me.
12 (Gangs/Groups of violent youths) attack me and force me to run away; they prepare to destroy me.
Upon my right hand rise the rabble; They thrust aside my feet, And they cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They prevent me from escaping, and they [do] not [need] anyone to help them (OR, there is no one to help me).
They mar my path, They set forward my calamity, [Even] men that have no helper.
14 [It is as though I am a city wall and] [SIM] they have broken through the wall, and they have come crashing down on me.
As through a wide breach they come: In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves [upon me].
15 I am very terrified; My dignity/honor has been taken away as though [SIM] [it has been] blown away by the wind, and my prosperity has disappeared like [SIM] clouds disappear.
Terrors are turned upon me; They chase mine honor as the wind; And my welfare is passed away as a cloud.
16 “And now I [SYN] am about to die [IDM]; I suffer every day.
And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
17 My bones ache during the night, and the pain that torments me never stops.
In the night season my bones are pierced in me, And the [pains] that gnaw me take no rest.
18 [It is as though God] seizes my clothes and chokes me with the collar of my coat.
By [God’s] great force is my garment disfigured; It bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.
19 He has thrown me into the mud; I am [not worth anything more than] dust and ashes.
He hath cast me into the mire, And I am become like dust and ashes.
20 “I cry out to God, but he does not answer/help me; I stand up [and pray], but he does not pay any attention.
I cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me: I stand up, and thou gazest at me.
21 He acts very cruelly toward me; with all of his power [MTY] he causes me to suffer.
Thou art turned to be cruel to me; With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.
22 He [allows] the wind to lift me up and blow me away, and he tosses me up and down in a violent storm.
Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride [upon it]; And thou dissolvest me in the storm.
23 I know that he will cause me to die, which is what happens to everyone [MTY] who is alive.
For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.
24 “When people experience disasters, and they sit on a pile of ruins and cry out for help, others surely [RHQ] reach out their hand to help them.
Howbeit doth not one stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
25 [That is what I did previously]. I wept for people who were experiencing troubles, and I felt sorry for poor/needy people.
Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26 But when I expected good things [to happen to me], evil things happened; when I waited for light/happiness, all I experienced was darkness/unhappiness [MET].
When I looked for good, then evil came; And when I waited for light, there came darkness.
27 I am very distressed [IDM], all the time; I suffer every day.
My heart is troubled, and resteth not; Days of affliction are come upon me.
28 I go about very discouraged; I stand up and plead for people to help me.
I go mourning without the sun: I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
29 My wailing sounds as sad as [MET] the cries of jackals/foxes and ostriches.
I am a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.
30 My skin has become dark/black and is peeling off, and I have a fever [which causes my body to feel like it is] burning.
My skin is black, [and falleth] from me, And my bones are burned with heat.
31 Previously, I played joyful music on my harp and with my flute, but now I play only the sad music of those who mourn.”
Therefore is my harp [turned] to mourning, And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.
