Job 30:1-31 GW

[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. [2] Of what use to me was the strength of their hands? Their strength is gone. [3] Shriveled up from need and hunger, they gnaw at the dry and barren ground during the night. [4] They pick saltwort from the underbrush, and the roots of the broom plant are their food. [5] They are driven from the community. People shout at them in the same way they shout at thieves. [6] They have to live in dry riverbeds, in holes in the ground, and among rocks. [7] They howl in bushes and huddle together under thornbushes. [8] Godless fools and worthless people are forced out of the land with whips. [9] "And now they make fun of me with songs. I have become a joke to them. [10] Since they consider me disgusting, they keep their distance from me and don't hesitate to spit in my face. [11] Because God has untied my cord and has made me suffer, they are no longer restrained in my presence. [12] They have attacked me on my right side like a mob. They trip my feet and then prepare ways to destroy me. [13] Yes, they remove all traces of my path in order to destroy me. No one is there to help me against them. [14] They come through a wide hole in the wall. They crawl through the ruins. [15] Terrors are directed toward me. They blow away my dignity like the wind. My prosperity vanishes like a cloud. [16] "Now my life is pouring out of me. Days of suffering seize me. [17] At night God pierces my bones. My body doesn't rest. [18] With great strength he grabs my clothes. He seizes me by the collar of my robe. [19] He throws me into the dirt so that I become like dust and ashes. [20] "I call to you for help, but you don't answer me. I stand up, but you just look at me. [21] You have begun to treat me cruelly. With your mighty hand you assault me. [22] You pick me up and let the wind carry me away. You toss me around with a storm. [23] I know you will lead me to death, to the dwelling place appointed for all living beings. [24] "But God doesn't stretch out his hand against one who is ruined when that person calls for help in his disaster. [25] Didn't I cry for the person whose days were difficult? Didn't my soul grieve for the poor? [26] When I waited for good, evil came. When I looked for light, darkness came. [27] My insides are churning and won't calm down. Days of misery are ahead of me. [28] I walk in the dark without the sun. I stand up in public and call for help. [29] I'm a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches. [30] My skin turns dark and peels. My body burns with fever. [31] So my lyre is used for mourning and my flute for loud weeping.