Job 30
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 30
Now I Am the Laughingstock
1 “But now I am the laughingstock
of people who are younger than I,
people whose fathers I would not have considered fit
to put with the dogs guarding my flock.
2 Of what use to me was the strength of their hands?
Their vigor had completely wasted away.
3 “Enfeebled by want and hunger,
they gnawed roots in the wilderness,
a gloomy place of dry and desolate ground.
4 They plucked saltwort and scrub for food,
and they ate the roots of the broom tree.[a]
5 Cast out from human society
and berated as thieves and pursued,
6 they were forced to live on the sides of ravines,
in holes in the ground, and in clefts of rock.
7 Among the bushes you could hear them braying,
huddled together under the nettles.
8 They are a vile and irresponsible brood,
driven as outcasts from society.
9 “And these are the ones who speak mockingly about me;
my name is a byword among them.
10 They abhor me and keep their distance from me;
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11 And since God has loosened my bowspring[b] and humbled me,
they have ceased to have any restraint in my presence.
12 “The rabble attack in a mob on my right flank;
they lay snares for my feet
and raise their siege-ramps against me.
13 They advance through my crumbling defenses,
blocking every means of escape,
and no one restrains them.
14 They burst forward through a gaping breach
and advance in waves.
15 Terrors surround me on all sides;
my confidence disintegrates,
and my hope of deliverance vanishes like a cloud.
God’s Severity[c]
16 “And now my life has begun to ebb away;
my days are filled with grief and affliction.
17 During the night pain wracks my bones,
and I suffer from ceaseless throbbing that allows me no respite.
18 God seizes my garment violently,
grasping me by the collar of my tunic.
19 He has cast me into the mire,
and I am covered with dust and ashes.
20 “I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer me;
I stand before you, but you barely take notice.
21 You have turned with severity against me;
with your strong hand you persecute me.
22 You lift me up and place me at the mercy of the wind,
allowing me to be tossed about in the storm.
23 I know indeed that you will hand me over to death
and to the place appointed for every living mortal.
Yet I Cannot Discover Why
24 “And yet should you not extend a hand
to someone who pleads with you for help?
25 Did I not shed tears over the plight of the unfortunate?
Was not my soul grieved for the destitute?
26 Yet when I hoped for good, only evil came;
when I looked for light, there was only darkness.
27 My inward parts are in constant pain,
and days of affliction torment me.
28 “I walk about dejected and without comfort;
I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
29 I have become a brother to the jackal
and a companion to the ostrich.
30 My skin has turned black and peels off my body,
and my bones are scorched by heat.
31 My harp has been tuned to dirges,
and my flute to the sounds of weeping.
Footnotes
- Job 30:4 The foods mentioned here (saltwort, scrub, and roots of the broom tree) were the fare of those in extreme poverty.
- Job 30:11 Loosened my bowspring: i.e., done away with my strength.
- Job 30:16 Little by little Job comes back to his essential distress: the fierce hostility of a God who pursues him relentlessly. His faith survives but in a greatly wounded state.
约伯记 30
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
哀叹今日的痛苦
30 “但如今，比我年少的人竟嘲笑我，
他们的父亲曾被我鄙视，
连我的牧羊犬都不如。
2 他们精力衰竭，
对我有何益处？
3 他们贫穷饥饿，瘦弱不堪，
夜间在干旱荒凉之地啃食。
4 他们在草丛中拔咸草充饥，
以罗腾树根为食。
5 他们被赶离人群，
像贼一样被喝斥。
6 他们只好住在荒谷，
在地洞和岩穴栖身；
7 在杂草间嚎叫如兽，
在树丛中蜷缩一团。
8 他们是愚昧无名之辈，
被人用鞭子赶出境外。
9 “如今，他们竟唱歌讽刺我，
我成了他们的笑柄。
10 他们厌恶我，不愿靠近我，
任意朝我脸上吐唾沫。
11 因为上帝苦待我，使我毫无力量，
他们才在我面前肆无忌惮。
12 这些无赖从右边攻击我，
迫使我逃亡，
他们展开攻势要毁灭我。
13 他们截断我的路，
想方设法害我，无人相助。
14 他们冲破防线，
从废墟中向我袭来。
15 恐惧笼罩着我，
我的尊荣随风而去，
我的荣华如云消散。
16 “如今我的生命将尽，
痛苦的日子抓住我。
17 夜间我的骨头刺痛，
如被啃噬，无休无止。
18 上帝猛力抓住我的衣服，
紧紧地揪住我的衣领。
19 祂把我扔进淤泥，
使我如尘埃灰烬。
20 “上帝啊！我向你呼求，你不回应；
我站起来，你也不理睬。
21 你变得对我残酷无情，
用你大能的手迫害我，
22 把我提到风中，让我被风吹走，
被暴风抛来抛去。
23 我知道你要带我去死亡之地，
那是你为众生所定的归宿。
24 “诚然，不幸的人在困境中呼救，
无人会伸手加害他。
25 难道我不曾为受苦的人哭泣，
我的心不曾为穷困者悲伤吗？
26 我盼望幸福，来的却是灾祸；
我期待光明，来的却是黑暗。
27 我心里一直烦乱不安，
苦难的日子迎面袭来。
28 我皮肤发黑，不是因为日晒，
我在会众中站起来呼救。
29 我成了豺狼的兄弟，
驼鸟的伙伴。
30 我的皮肤发黑、脱落，
我的骨头如被烤焦。
31 我的琴唱出哀乐，
我的箫奏出悲鸣。
Job 30
New King James Version
Job’s Wealth Now Poverty
30 “But now they mock at me, men [a]younger than I,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me?
Their vigor has perished.
3 They are gaunt from want and famine,
Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste,
4 Who pluck [b]mallow by the bushes,
And broom tree roots for their food.
5 They were driven out from among men,
They shouted at them as at a thief.
6 They had to live in the clefts of the [c]valleys,
In [d]caves of the earth and the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they brayed,
Under the nettles they nestled.
8 They were sons of fools,
Yes, sons of vile men;
They were scourged from the land.
9 “And(A) now I am their taunting song;
Yes, I am their byword.
10 They abhor me, they keep far from me;
They do not hesitate (B)to spit in my face.
11 Because (C)He has loosed [e]my bowstring and afflicted me,
They have cast off restraint before me.
12 At my right hand the rabble arises;
They push away my feet,
And (D)they raise against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path,
They promote my calamity;
They have no helper.
14 They come as broad breakers;
Under the ruinous storm they roll along.
15 Terrors are turned upon me;
They pursue my honor as the wind,
And my prosperity has passed like a cloud.
16 “And(E) now my soul is (F)poured out because of my plight;
The days of affliction take hold of me.
17 My bones are pierced in me at night,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.
18 By great force my garment is disfigured;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
19 He has cast me into the mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 “I (G)cry out to You, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You regard me.
21 But You have become cruel to me;
With the strength of Your hand You (H)oppose me.
22 You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it;
You spoil my success.
23 For I know that You will bring me to death,
And to the house (I)appointed for all living.
24 “Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins,
If they cry out when He destroys it.
25 (J)Have I not wept for him who was in trouble?
Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 (K)But when I looked for good, evil came to me;
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.
27 [f]My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest;
Days of affliction confront me.
28 (L)I go about mourning, but not in the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
29 (M)I am a brother of jackals,
And a companion of ostriches.
30 (N)My skin grows black and falls from me;
(O)My bones burn with fever.
31 My harp is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the voice of those who weep.
Chinese Contemporary Bible Copyright © 1979, 2005, 2007, 2011 by Biblica® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
