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Job’s Present State Is Humiliating

“But now those younger than I ^amock 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 gauntWho gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,4 Who pluck ¹mallow 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 ¹valleys,In holes of the earth and of the rocks.7 “Among the bushes they ¹cry out;Under the nettles they are gathered together.8 “¹Fools, even ²those without a name,They were scourged from the land.

9 “And now I have become their ¹^ataunt,I have even become a ^bbyword to them.10 “They abhor me and stand aloof from me,And they do not ¹refrain from ^aspitting at my face.11 “Because ¹He has loosed ²His ³bowstring and ^aafflicted me,They have cast off ^bthe bridle before me.12 “On the right hand their ¹brood arises;They ^athrust aside my feet ^band build up against me their ways of destruction.13 “They ^abreak up my path,They profit ¹from my destruction;No one restrains them.14 “As through a wide breach they come,¹Amid the tempest they roll on.15 “^aTerrors are turned against me;They pursue my ¹honor as the wind,And my ²prosperity has passed away ^blike a cloud.

16 “And now ^amy soul is poured out ¹within me;Days of affliction have seized me.17 “At night it pierces ^amy bones ¹within me,And my gnawing pains take no rest.18 “By a great force my garment is ^adistorted;It binds me about as the collar of my coat.19 “He has cast me into the ^amire,And I have become like dust and ashes.20 “I ^acry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.21 “You have ¹become cruel to me;With the might of Your hand You ^apersecute me.22 “You ^alift me up to the wind and cause me to ride;And You dissolve me in a storm.23 “For I know that You ^awill bring me to deathAnd to the ^bhouse of meeting for all living.

24 “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,Or in his disaster therefore ^acry out for help?25 “Have I not ^awept for the ¹one whose life is hard?Was not my soul grieved for ^bthe needy?26 “When I ^aexpected good, then evil came;When I waited for light, ^bthen darkness came.27 “¹I am seething ^awithin and cannot relax;Days of affliction confront me.28 “I go about ¹^amourning without comfort;I stand up in the assembly and ^bcry out for help.29 “I have become a brother to ^ajackalsAnd a companion of ostriches.30 “My ^askin turns black ¹on me,And my ^bbones burn with ²fever.31 “Therefore my ^aharp ¹is turned to mourning,And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

Job’s Present State Is Humiliating

“But now those who are younger than I ^amock me,Whose fathers I refused 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 poverty and famine they are gaunt,They who gnaw at the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,4 Who pluck saltweed 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 live on the slopes of ravines,In holes in the ground and among the rocks.7 “Among the bushes they ¹cry out;Under the weeds they are gathered together.8 “Worthless ¹fellows, even ²those without a name,They were cast out from the land.

9 “And now I have become their ¹^ataunt,And I have become a ²^bbyword to them.10 “They loathe me and stand aloof from me,And they do not ¹refrain from ^aspitting in my face.11 “Because He has undone ¹my ²bowstring and ^aafflicted me,They have cast off ^bthe bridle before me.12 “On the right hand their ¹mob arises;They ^apush aside my feet ^band pile up their ways of destruction against me.13 “They ^abreak up my path,They promote my destruction;No one restrains them.14 “As through a wide gap they come,¹Amid the storm they roll on.15 “^aSudden terrors are turned upon me;They chase away my dignity like the wind,And my ¹prosperity has passed away ^blike a cloud.

16 “And now ^amy soul is poured out ¹within me;Days of misery have seized me.17 “At night it pierces ^amy bones ¹within me,And my gnawing pains do not rest.18 “By a great force my garment is ^adistorted;It ties me up like the collar of my coat.19 “He has thrown me into the ^amire,And I have become like dust and ashes.20 “I ^acry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.21 “You have ¹become cruel to me;With the strength of Your hand You ^apersecute me.22 “You ^alift me up to the wind and make me ride it;And You dissolve me in a storm.23 “For I know that You ^awill bring me to death,And to the ^bhouse of meeting for all living.

24 “Yet does one in a heap of ruins not reach out with his hand,Or in his disaster does he not ^acry out for help?25 “Have I not ^awept for the ¹one whose life is hard?Was my soul not grieved for ^bthe needy?26 “When I ^aexpected good, evil came;When I waited for light, ^bdarkness came.27 “¹I am seething ^awithin and cannot rest;Days of misery confront me.28 “I go about ¹^amourning without comfort;I stand up in the assembly and ^bcry out for help.29 “I have become a brother to ^ajackals,And a companion of ostriches.30 “My ^askin turns black ¹on me,And my ^bbones burn with ²fever.31 “Therefore my ^aharp ¹is turned to mourning,And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

Job’s Present State Is Humiliating

“But now those younger than I ^amock and laugh at me,Whose fathers I refused to put with the sheepdogs of my flock.2 “Indeed, how could the strength of their hands profit me?Vigor had perished from them.3 “They are gaunt with want and famine;They gnaw the dry and barren ground by night in the gloom of waste and desolation.4 “They pluck and eat ¹saltwort (mallows) among the bushes,And their food is the root of the broom shrub.5 “They are driven from the community;They shout after them as after a thief.6 “They must dwell on the slopes of ¹wadisAnd in holes in the ground and in rocks.7 “Among the bushes they cry out like wild animals;Beneath the prickly scrub they gather and huddle together.8 “They are the sons of worthless and nameless fools,They have been driven out of the land.

9 “And now I have become the subject of their ^ataunting;Yes, I am a ¹^bbyword and a laughingstock to them.10 “They hate me, they stand aloof from me,And do not refrain from ^aspitting in my face.11 “For God has loosed His bowstring attacking me and He has ^aafflicted and humbled me;They have cast off ^bthe bridle of restraint before me.12 “On my right the rabble brood rises;They ^apush my feet away, and they ^bbuild up their ways of destruction against me like an advancing army.13 “They ^abreak up and clutter my path upsetting my plans,They profit from my destruction;No one restrains them.14 “As through a wide breach they come,Amid the crash of falling walls they roll on over me.15 “^aTerrors are turned upon me;They chase away my honor and reputation like the wind,And my prosperity has passed away ^blike a cloud.

16 “And now ^amy soul is poured out within me;The days of affliction have seized me.17 “^aMy bones are pierced with aching in the night season,And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.18 “By the great force of my disease my garment (skin) is ^adisfigured and blemished;It binds about me choking me like the collar of my coat.19 “God has cast me into the ^amire a swampland of crisis,And I have become worthless like dust and ashes.20 “I ^acry to You for help, Lord, but You do not answer me;I stand up, but You only gaze indifferently at me.21 “You have become harsh and cruel to me;With the might of Your hand You keep me alive only to ^apersecute me.22 “You ^alift me up on the wind and cause me to ride upon it;And You toss me about in the tempest and dissolve me in the storm.23 “For I know that You ^awill bring me to deathAnd to the ^bhouse of meeting appointed for all the living.

24 “However, does not one falling in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand?Or in his disaster will he not therefore ^acry out for help?25 “Did I not ^aweep for one whose life was hard and filled with trouble?Was not my heart grieved for ^bthe needy?26 “When I ^aexpected good, then came evil to me;And when I waited for light, ^bthen came darkness.27 “I am seething ^awithin and my heart is troubled and cannot rest;Days of affliction come to meet me.28 “I go about ^amourning without comfort my skin blackened by disease, not by the heat of the sun;I stand up in the assembly and ^bcry out for help.29 “I am a brother to howling ^ajackals,And a companion to ostriches which scream dismally.30 “My ^askin falls from me in blackened flakes,And my ^bbones are burned with fever.31 “Therefore my ^alyre (harp) is used for the sound of mourning,And my flute for the sound of the voices of those who weep.