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.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.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.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.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.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.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.22Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it , and dissolvest my substance.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.25Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?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.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 30
English Standard Version
1“But now they laugh at me, men who are younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock. (Job 12:4; Job 32:4; Job 32:6)2What could I gain from the strength of their hands, men whose vigor is gone? (Job 5:26; Job 24:4)3Through want and hard hunger they gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation; (Job 30:17; Job 38:27; Jer 2:6; Zep 1:15)4they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes, and the roots of the broom tree for their food.[1]5They are driven out from human company; they shout after them as after a thief. (1Sa 26:19)6In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell, in holes of the earth and of the rocks. (1Sa 13:6; Jer 4:29)7Among the bushes they bray; under the nettles they huddle together. (Job 6:5; Pr 24:31; Zep 2:9)8A senseless, a nameless brood, they have been whipped out of the land.9“And now I have become their song; I am a byword to them. (Job 17:6; Ps 69:12; La 3:14; La 3:63)10They abhor me; they keep aloof from me; they do not hesitate to spit at the sight of me. (Nu 12:14; Job 17:6; Ps 88:8; Isa 50:6; Mt 26:67; Mt 27:30)11Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me, they have cast off restraint[2] in my presence.12On my right hand the rabble rise; they push away my feet; they cast up against me their ways of destruction. (Job 19:12; Ps 109:6)13They break up my path; they promote my calamity; they need no one to help them. (Job 6:2)14As through a wide breach they come; amid the crash they roll on. (Job 16:14)15Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is pursued as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud. (Job 7:9; Job 18:11; Isa 44:22)16“And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction have taken hold of me. (1Sa 1:15; Job 10:1)17The night racks my bones, and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest. (Job 7:3; Job 30:3; Job 33:19)18With great force my garment is disfigured; it binds me about like the collar of my tunic. (1Sa 28:8; 1Ki 20:38)19God[3] has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes. (Ge 18:27; Job 42:6)20I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me.21You have turned cruel to me; with the might of your hand you persecute me. (Job 16:9; Isa 63:10; La 4:3)22You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it, and you toss me about in the roar of the storm. (Job 27:21)23For I know that you will bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living. (Job 19:25; Job 28:21)24“Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, and in his disaster cry for help?[4] (Ps 79:1; Jer 26:18; Mic 1:6; Mic 3:12)25Did not I weep for him whose day was hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy? (Ps 35:13; Ro 12:15)26But when I hoped for good, evil came, and when I waited for light, darkness came. (Job 10:21; Jer 8:15; Jer 14:19)27My inward parts are in turmoil and never still; days of affliction come to meet me. (2Sa 22:6; Ps 18:5)28I go about darkened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. (Ps 38:6; Ps 42:9; Ps 43:2; Pr 26:26)29I am a brother of jackals and a companion of ostriches. (Isa 13:21; Isa 34:13; Jer 50:39; Mic 1:8)30My skin turns black and falls from me, and my bones burn with heat. (Ps 102:3; Ps 119:83; La 4:8; La 5:10)31My lyre is turned to mourning, and my pipe to the voice of those who weep. (Job 21:12; La 5:15)