Job 30

¹But now they that are younger than I hold me in derision, Whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.

²Of what use to me would be even the strength of their hands, To whom old age is lost?

³By want and hunger they are famished; They gnaw the dry desert, The darkness of desolate wastes.

⁴They gather purslain among the bushes, And the root of the broom is their bread.

⁵They are driven from the society of men; There is a cry after them as after a thief.

⁶They dwell in gloomy valleys, In caves of the earth and in rocks.

⁷They bray among the bushes; Under the brambles are they stretched out.

⁸An impious and low-born race, They are beaten out of the land.

⁹And now I am become their song; Yea, I am their by-word!

¹⁰They abhor me, they stand aloof from me; They forbear not to spit before my face.

¹¹Yea, they let loose the reins, and humble me; They cast off the bridle before me.

¹²On my right hand riseth up the brood; They thrust away my feet; They cast up against me their destructive ways.

¹³They break up my path; They hasten my fall,—They who have no helper!

¹⁴They come upon me as through a wide breach; Through the ruins they rush in upon me.

¹⁵Terrors are turned against me; They pursue my prosperity like the wind, And my welfare passeth away like a cloud.

¹⁶And now my soul poureth itself out upon me; Days of affliction have taken hold of me.

¹⁷By night my bones are pierced; they are torn from me, And my gnawers take no rest.

¹⁸Through the violence of my disease is my garment changed; It bindeth me about like the collar of my tunic.

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

²⁰I call upon Thee, but thou dost not hear me; I stand up before thee, but thou regardest me not.

²¹Thou art become cruel to me; With thy strong hand dost thou lie in wait for me.

²²Thou liftest me up, and causest me to ride upon the wind; Thou meltest me away in the storm.

²³I know that thou wilt bring me to death, To the place of assembly for all the living.

²⁴When He stretcheth out his hand, prayer availeth nothing; When He bringeth destruction, vain is the cry for help.

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

²⁶But when I looked for good, then evil came; When I looked for light, then came darkness.

²⁷My bowels boil, and have no rest; Days of anguish have come upon me.

²⁸I am black, but not by the sun; I stand up, and utter my cries in the congregation.

²⁹I am become a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.

³⁰My skin is black, and falleth from me, And my bones burn with heat.

³¹My harp also is turned to mourning, And my pipe to notes of grief.

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.

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.