Job 30
1 Nunc autem derident me juniores tempore, quorum non dignabar patres ponere cum canibus gregis mei:
Now those who are younger than I have nothing but mockery for me— these young men whose fathers I would have refused to allow to work beside the dogs of my flock.
2 quorum virtus manuum mihi erat pro nihilo, et vita ipsa putabantur indigni:
Indeed, the strength of their fathers' hands, how could it have helped me— men in whom the strength of their mature age had perished?
3 egestate et fame steriles, qui rodebant in solitudine, squallentes calamitate et miseria.
They were thin from poverty and hunger; they gnawed at the dry ground in the darkness of wilderness and desolation.
4 Et mandebant herbas, et arborum cortices, et radix juniperorum erat cibus eorum:
They plucked saltwort and bushes' leaves; the roots of the broom tree were their food.
5 qui de convallibus ista rapientes, cum singula reperissent, ad ea cum clamore currebant.
They were driven out from among people who shouted after them as one would shout after a thief.
6 In desertis habitabant torrentium, et in cavernis terræ, vel super glaream:
So they had to live in river valleys, in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 qui inter hujuscemodi lætabantur, et esse sub sentibus delicias computabant:
Among the bushes they brayed like donkeys and they gathered together under the nettles.
8 filii stultorum et ignobilium, et in terra penitus non parentes.
They were the sons of fools, indeed, sons of nameless people! They were driven out of the land with whips.
9 Nunc in eorum canticum versus sum, et factus sum eis in proverbium.
But now I have become the subject of their taunting song; I have become a byword for them.
10 Abominantur me, et longe fugiunt a me, et faciem meam conspuere non verentur.
They abhor me and stand far off from me; they do not refrain from spitting in my face.
11 Pharetram enim suam aperuit, et afflixit me, et frenum posuit in os meum.
For God has unstrung the string to my bow and afflicted me, and those who taunt me cast off restraint before my face.
12 Ad dexteram orientis calamitates meæ illico surrexerunt: pedes meos subverterunt, et oppresserunt quasi fluctibus semitis suis.
Upon my right hand rise the rabble; they drive me away and pile up against me their siege mounds.
13 Dissipaverunt itinera mea; insidiati sunt mihi, et prævaluerunt: et non fuit qui ferret auxilium.
They destroy my path; they push forward disaster for me, men who have no one to hold them back.
14 Quasi rupto muro, et aperta janua, irruerunt super me, et ad meas miserias devoluti sunt.
They come against me like an army through a wide hole in a city wall; in the midst of the destruction they roll themselves in on me.
15 Redactus sum in nihilum: abstulisti quasi ventus desiderium meum, et velut nubes pertransiit salus mea.
Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is driven away as if by the wind; my prosperity passes away as a cloud.
16 Nunc autem in memetipso marcescit anima mea, et possident me dies afflictionis.
Now my life is pouring out from within me; many days of suffering have laid hold on me.
17 Nocte os meum perforatur doloribus, et qui me comedunt, non dormiunt.
In the night my bones in me are pierced; the pains that gnaw at me take no rest.
18 In multitudine eorum consumitur vestimentum meum, et quasi capitio tunicæ succinxerunt me.
God's great force has seized my clothing; it wraps around me like the collar of my tunic.
19 Comparatus sum luto, et assimilatus sum favillæ et cineri.
He has thrown me into the mud; I have become like dust and ashes.
20 Clamo ad te, et non exaudis me: sto, et non respicis me.
I cry to you, God, but you do not answer me; I stand up, and you merely look at me.
21 Mutatus es mihi in crudelem, et in duritia manus tuæ adversaris mihi.
You have changed and become cruel to me; with the strength of your hand you persecute me.
22 Elevasti me, et quasi super ventum ponens; elisisti me valide.
You lift me up to the wind and cause it to drive me along; you throw me back and forth in a storm.
23 Scio quia morti trades me, ubi constituta est domus omni viventi.
For I know that you will bring me to death, to the house appointed for all the living.
24 Verumtamen non ad consumptionem eorum emittis manum tuam: et si corruerint, ipse salvabis.
However, does no one reach out with his hand to beg for help when he falls? Does no one in trouble call out for help?
25 Flebam quondam super eo qui afflictus erat, et compatiebatur anima mea pauperi.
Did not I weep for him who was in trouble? Did I not grieve for the needy man?
26 Expectabam bona, et venerunt mihi mala: præstolabar lucem, et eruperunt tenebræ.
When I hoped for good, then evil came; when I waited for light, darkness came instead.
27 Interiora mea efferbuerunt absque ulla requie: prævenerunt me dies afflictionis.
My heart is troubled and does not rest; days of affliction have come on me.
28 Mœrens incedebam sine furore; consurgens, in turba clamabam.
I have gone about like one who was living in the dark, but not because of the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
29 Frater fui draconum, et socius struthionum.
I am a brother to jackals, a companion of ostriches.
30 Cutis mea denigrata est super me, et ossa mea aruerunt præ caumate.
My skin is black and falls away from me; my bones are burned with heat.
31 Versa est in luctum cithara mea, et organum meum in vocem flentium.
Therefore my harp is tuned for songs of mourning, my flute for the singing of those who wail.
