Job 30
1 “But now those who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I considered unworthy to put with my sheep dogs.
“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.
2 Of what use is the strength of their hands to me, men in whom ripe age has perished?
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]
3 They are gaunt from lack and famine. They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of waste and desolation.
They were very poor and hungry, with the result that they chewed on roots [at night] in dry and desolate places.
4 They pluck salt herbs by the bushes. The roots of the broom tree are their food.
They pulled up plants in the desert [and ate them] and warmed themselves by [burning] the roots of broom trees.
5 They are driven out from amongst men. They cry after them as after a thief,
Everyone shouted at them as though they were thieves and expelled them [from their areas].
6 so that they live in frightful valleys, and in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
They were forced to live in caves in the hills, in holes in the ground, and in the sides of cliffs.
7 They bray amongst the bushes. They are gathered together under the nettles.
In the bushes they howled [like animals because they were hungry], and they huddled together under thornbushes.
8 They are children of fools, yes, children of wicked men. They were flogged out of the land.
They were people without good sense, whose names no one knows; they have been expelled from the land [where they were born].
9 “Now I have become their song. Yes, I am a byword to them.
“And now their [children] sing songs to make fun of me. They tell jokes about me.
10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, and don’t hesitate to spit in my face.
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.
11 For he has untied his cord, and afflicted me; and they have thrown off restraint before me.
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.
12 On my right hand rise the rabble. They thrust aside my feet. They cast their ways of destruction up against me.
(Gangs/Groups of violent youths) attack me and force me to run away; they prepare to destroy me.
13 They mar my path. They promote my destruction without anyone’s help.
They prevent me from escaping, and they [do] not [need] anyone to help them (OR, there is no one to help me).
14 As through a wide breach they come. They roll themselves in amid the ruin.
[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.
15 Terrors have turned on me. They chase my honour as the wind. My welfare has passed away as a cloud.
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.
16 “Now my soul is poured out within me. Days of affliction have taken hold of me.
“And now I [SYN] am about to die [IDM]; I suffer every day.
17 In the night season my bones are pierced in me, and the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
My bones ache during the night, and the pain that torments me never stops.
18 My garment is disfigured by great force. It binds me about as the collar of my tunic.
[It is as though God] seizes my clothes and chokes me with the collar of my coat.
19 He has cast me into the mire. I have become like dust and ashes.
He has thrown me into the mud; I am [not worth anything more than] dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you, and you do not answer me. I stand up, and you gaze at me.
“I cry out to God, but he does not answer/help me; I stand up [and pray], but he does not pay any attention.
21 You have turned to be cruel to me. With the might of your hand you persecute me.
He acts very cruelly toward me; with all of his power [MTY] he causes me to suffer.
22 You lift me up to the wind, and drive me with it. You dissolve me in the storm.
He [allows] the wind to lift me up and blow me away, and he tosses me up and down in a violent storm.
23 For I know that you will bring me to death, to the house appointed for all living.
I know that he will cause me to die, which is what happens to everyone [MTY] who is alive.
24 “However doesn’t one stretch out a hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
“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.
25 Didn’t I weep for him who was in trouble? Wasn’t my soul grieved for the needy?
[That is what I did previously]. I wept for people who were experiencing troubles, and I felt sorry for poor/needy people.
26 When I looked for good, then evil came. When I waited for light, darkness came.
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].
27 My heart is troubled, and doesn’t rest. Days of affliction have come on me.
I am very distressed [IDM], all the time; I suffer every day.
28 I go mourning without the sun. I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
I go about very discouraged; I stand up and plead for people to help me.
29 I am a brother to jackals, and a companion to ostriches.
My wailing sounds as sad as [MET] the cries of jackals/foxes and ostriches.
30 My skin grows black and peels from me. My bones are burnt with heat.
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.
31 Therefore my harp has turned to mourning, and my pipe into the voice of those who weep.
Previously, I played joyful music on my harp and with my flute, but now I play only the sad music of those who mourn.”
