Job 30:1-31 ICB

[1] "But now men who are younger than I make fun of me. I would not have even let their fathers sit with my sheep dogs. [2] Their hands had no strength to help me. They had even lost their strength to work. [3] They were thin from being hungry and in need. They wandered through the dry and ruined land at night. [4] They gathered desert plants by the brush for food. They even ate the root of the broom tree. [5] They were forced to live away from other people. People shouted at them as if they were thieves. [6] These young men had to live in dried up streambeds. They lived in caves and among the rocks. [7] They howled like animals out among the bushes. And they huddled together in the brush. [8] They are worthless people without names. They were forced to leave the land. [9] "Now they make fun of me with songs. My name has become a joke among them. [10] They hate me and stay far away from me. But they do not mind spitting in my face. [11] God has taken away my strength and made me suffer. So they attack me with all their anger. [12] On my right side they attack me like a mob. They lay traps for my feet. They prepare to attack me. [13] They break up my road. They work to destroy me without anyone stopping them. [14] They go forward as if through a hole in the wall. They roll in among the ruins. [15] Great fears overwhelm me. They blow my honor away as if by a great wind. My safety disappears like a cloud. [16] "Now my life is almost over. My days are full of suffering. [17] At night my bones ache. Gnawing pains never stop. [18] In his great power God grabs hold of my clothing. He chokes me with the collar of my coat. [19] He throws me into the mud. And I become like dirt and ashes. [20] "I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer. I stand up, but you just look at me. [21] You turn on me without mercy. You attack me with your powerful hand. [22] You snatch me up and throw me into the wind. You toss me about in the storm. [23] I know you will bring me down to death. You will bring me to the place where all living people must go. [24] "Surely no one would hurt a ruined man when he cries for help in his time of trouble. [25] I have cried for those who are in trouble. My soul has been very sad for poor people. [26] But when I hoped for good, only evil came to me. When I looked for light, darkness came. [27] I never stop being upset inside. Days of suffering are ahead of me. [28] I have become black, but not by the sun. I stand up in public and cry for help. [29] It is as if I have become a brother to wild dogs and a friend to ostriches. [30] My skin becomes black and peels off. My body burns with fever. [31] My harp is tuned for singing a sad song. And my flute is tuned for the sound of loud crying.