GodsWord - Job - 30

30:1  "But now those who are younger than I am laugh at me. I didn't think their fathers were fit to sit with the dogs of my flock.

30:2  Of what use to me was the strength of their hands? Their strength is gone.

30:3  Shriveled up from need and hunger, they gnaw at the dry and barren ground during the night.

30:4  They pick saltwort from the underbrush, and the roots of the broom plant are their food.

30:5  They are driven from the community. People shout at them in the same way they shout at thieves.

30:6  They have to live in dry riverbeds, in holes in the ground, and among rocks.

30:7  They howl in bushes and huddle together under thornbushes.

30:8  Godless fools and worthless people are forced out of the land with whips.

30:9  "And now they make fun of me with songs. I have become a joke to them.

30:10  Since they consider me disgusting, they keep their distance from me and don't hesitate to spit in my face.

30:11  Because God has untied my cord and has made me suffer, they are no longer restrained in my presence.

30:12  They have attacked me on my right side like a mob. They trip my feet and then prepare ways to destroy me.

30:13  Yes, they remove all traces of my path in order to destroy me. No one is there to help me against them.

30:14  They come through a wide hole in the wall. They crawl through the ruins.

30:15  Terrors are directed toward me. They blow away my dignity like the wind. My prosperity vanishes like a cloud.

30:16  "Now my life is pouring out of me. Days of suffering seize me.

30:17  At night God pierces my bones. My body doesn't rest.

30:18  With great strength he grabs my clothes. He seizes me by the collar of my robe.

30:19  He throws me into the dirt so that I become like dust and ashes.

30:20  "I call to you for help, but you don't answer me. I stand up, but you just look at me.

30:21  You have begun to treat me cruelly. With your mighty hand you assault me.

30:22  You pick me up and let the wind carry me away. You toss me around with a storm.

30:23  I know you will lead me to death, to the dwelling place appointed for all living beings.

30:24  "But God doesn't stretch out his hand against one who is ruined when that person calls for help in his disaster.

30:25  Didn't I cry for the person whose days were difficult? Didn't my soul grieve for the poor?

30:26  When I waited for good, evil came. When I looked for light, darkness came.

30:27  My insides are churning and won't calm down. Days of misery are ahead of me.

30:28  I walk in the dark without the sun. I stand up in public and call for help.

30:29  I'm a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.

30:30  My skin turns dark and peels. My body burns with fever.

30:31  So my lyre is used for mourning and my flute for loud weeping.