Job 30
New American Standard Bible 1995
Job’s Present State Is Humiliating
30 “But now those younger than I (A)mock me,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 “Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.
3 “From want and famine they are gaunt
Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,
4 Who pluck [a]mallow by the bushes,
And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.
5 “They are driven from the community;
They shout against them as against a thief,
6 So that they dwell in dreadful [b]valleys,
In holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 “Among the bushes they [c]cry out;
Under the nettles they are gathered together.
8 “[d]Fools, even [e]those without a name,
They were scourged from the land.
9 “And now I have become their [f](B)taunt,
I have even become a (C)byword to them.
10 “They abhor me and stand aloof from me,
And they do not [g]refrain from (D)spitting at my face.
11 “Because [h]He has loosed [i]His [j]bowstring and (E)afflicted me,
They have cast off (F)the bridle before me.
12 “On the right hand their [k]brood arises;
They (G)thrust aside my feet (H)and build up against me their ways of destruction.
13 “They (I)break up my path,
They profit [l]from my destruction;
No one restrains them.
14 “As through a wide breach they come,
[m]Amid the tempest they roll on.
15 “(J)Terrors are turned against me;
They pursue my [n]honor as the wind,
And my [o]prosperity has passed away (K)like a cloud.
16 “And now (L)my soul is poured out [p]within me;
Days of affliction have seized me.
17 “At night it pierces (M)my bones [q]within me,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.
18 “By a great force my garment is (N)distorted;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
19 “He has cast me into the (O)mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 “I (P)cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.
21 “You have [r]become cruel to me;
With the might of Your hand You (Q)persecute me.
22 “You (R)lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride;
And You dissolve me in a storm.
23 “For I know that You (S)will bring me to death
And to the (T)house of meeting for all living.
24 “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
Or in his disaster therefore (U)cry out for help?
25 “Have I not (V)wept for the [s]one whose life is hard?
Was not my soul grieved for (W)the needy?
26 “When I (X)expected good, then evil came;
When I waited for light, (Y)then darkness came.
27 “[t]I am seething (Z)within and cannot relax;
Days of affliction confront me.
28 “I go about [u](AA)mourning without comfort;
I stand up in the assembly and (AB)cry out for help.
29 “I have become a brother to (AC)jackals
And a companion of ostriches.
30 “My (AD)skin turns black [v]on me,
And my (AE)bones burn with [w]fever.
31 “Therefore my (AF)harp [x]is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep.
Footnotes
- Job 30:4 I.e. plant of the salt marshes
- Job 30:6 Or wadis
- Job 30:7 Or bray
- Job 30:8 Lit Sons of fools
- Job 30:8 Lit sons
- Job 30:9 Lit song
- Job 30:10 Lit withhold spit from my face
- Job 30:11 Or they
- Job 30:11 Some mss read my
- Job 30:11 Or cord
- Job 30:12 Possibly sprout or offspring
- Job 30:13 Lit for
- Job 30:14 Lit Under
- Job 30:15 Or nobility
- Job 30:15 Or welfare
- Job 30:16 Lit upon
- Job 30:17 Lit from upon
- Job 30:21 Lit turned to be
- Job 30:25 Lit hard of day
- Job 30:27 Lit My inward parts are boiling
- Job 30:28 Or blackened, but not by the heat of the sun
- Job 30:30 Lit from upon
- Job 30:30 Lit heat
- Job 30:31 Lit becomes
Job 30
English Standard Version
30 “But now they (A)laugh at me,
men who are (B)younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 What could I gain from the strength of their hands,
(C)men whose (D)vigor is gone?
3 Through want and hard hunger
they (E)gnaw (F)the dry ground by night in (G)waste and desolation;
4 they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
and the roots of the broom tree for their food.[a]
5 (H)They are driven out from human company;
they shout after them as after a thief.
6 In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,
in holes of the earth and of (I)the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they (J)bray;
under (K)the nettles they huddle together.
8 A senseless, a nameless brood,
they have been whipped out of the land.
9 “And now I have become their (L)song;
I am (M)a byword to them.
10 They (N)abhor me; they keep aloof from me;
they do not hesitate to (O)spit at the sight of me.
11 Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
they have cast off restraint[b] in my presence.
12 On my (P)right hand the rabble rise;
they push away my feet;
they (Q)cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path;
they promote my (R)calamity;
they need no one to help them.
14 As through a wide (S)breach they come;
amid the crash they roll on.
15 (T)Terrors are turned upon me;
my honor is pursued as by the wind,
and my prosperity has passed away like (U)a cloud.
16 “And now my soul is (V)poured out within me;
days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 (W)The night (X)racks my bones,
and the pain that (Y)gnaws me takes no rest.
18 With great force my garment is (Z)disfigured;
it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 God[c] has cast me into the mire,
and I have become like (AA)dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;
I stand, and you only look at me.
21 You have (AB)turned cruel to me;
with the might of your hand you (AC)persecute me.
22 (AD)You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,
and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.
23 (AE)For I know that you will bring me to death
and to the house appointed for (AF)all living.
24 “Yet does not one in a (AG)heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
and in his disaster cry for help?[d]
25 Did not I (AH)weep for him whose day was hard?
Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26 But (AI)when I hoped for good, evil came,
and when I waited for light, (AJ)darkness came.
27 My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;
days of affliction (AK)come to meet me.
28 I (AL)go about darkened, but not by the sun;
I stand up in (AM)the assembly and cry for help.
29 I am a brother of (AN)jackals
and a companion of (AO)ostriches.
30 My (AP)skin turns black and falls from me,
and my (AQ)bones burn with heat.
31 My (AR)lyre is (AS)turned to mourning,
and my (AT)pipe to the voice of those who weep.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
