Job continues

Young people now insult me

1Young people now insult me,

although their fathers

would have been a disgrace

to my sheep dogs.

2And those who insult me

are helpless themselves.

3They must claw the desert sand

in the dark for something

to satisfy their hunger.30.3 hunger: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 3.

4They gather tasteless shrubs

for food and firewood,

5and they are driven out of towns,

as though they were thieves.

6Their only homes are ditches

or holes between rocks,

7where they bray like donkeys

gathering around shrubs.

8And like senseless donkeys

they are chased away.

Those worthless nobodies

9Those worthless nobodies

make up jokes and songs

to disgrace me.

10They are hateful

and keep their distance,

even while spitting

in my direction.

11God has destroyed me,

and so they don't care

what they do.30.11 God…do: Or “They have destroyed me, and so they don't care what else they do.”

12Their attacks never stop,

though I am defenceless,

and my feet are trapped.30.12 trapped: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 12.

13Without any help,

they prevent my escape,

destroying me completely30.13 destroying…completely: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

14and leaving me crushed.

15Terror has me surrounded;

my reputation and my riches

have vanished like a cloud.

I am sick at heart

16I am sick at heart!

Pain has taken its toll.

17Night chews on my bones,

causing endless torment,

18and God has shrunk my skin,

choking me to death.

19I have been thrown in the dirt

and now am dirt myself.

20I beg God for help,

but there is no answer;

and when I stand up,

he simply stares.

21God has turned brutal,

22stirring up a storm

to toss me about.

23Soon he will send me home

to the world of the dead,

where we all must go.

24No one refuses help to others,

when disaster strikes.30.24 strikes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 24.

25I mourned for the poor

and those who suffered.

26But when I beg for relief

and light,

all I receive are disaster

and darkness.

27My stomach is tied in knots;

pain is my daily companion.

28Suffering has scorched my skin,

and in the city council

I stand and cry out,

29making mournful sounds

like jackals30.29 jackals: Desert animals related to wolves, but smaller. and owls.

30My skin is so parched,

that it peels right off,

and my bones are burning.

31My only songs are sorrow

and sadness.