Job Speaks of His Anguish

1“But now I am mocked by people younger than I,

by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.

2A lot of good they are to me—

those worn-out wretches!

3They are gaunt from poverty and hunger.

They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands.

4They pluck wild greens from among the bushes

and eat from the roots of broom trees.

5They are driven from human society,

and people shout at them as if they were thieves.

6So now they live in frightening ravines,

in caves and among the rocks.

7They sound like animals howling among the bushes,

huddled together beneath the nettles.

8They are nameless fools,

outcasts from society.

9“And now they mock me with vulgar songs!

They taunt me!

10They despise me and won’t come near me,

except to spit in my face.

11For God has cut my bowstring.

He has humbled me,

so they have thrown off all restraint.

12These outcasts oppose me to my face.

They send me sprawling

and lay traps in my path.

13They block my road

and do everything they can to destroy me.

They know I have no one to help me.

14They come at me from all directions.

They jump on me when I am down.

15I live in terror now.

My honor has blown away in the wind,

and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud.

16“And now my life seeps away.

Depression haunts my days.

17At night my bones are filled with pain,

which gnaws at me relentlessly.

18With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt.a

He grips me by the collar of my coat.

19He has thrown me into the mud.

I’m nothing more than dust and ashes.

20“I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer.

I stand before you, but you don’t even look.

21You have become cruel toward me.

You use your power to persecute me.

22You throw me into the whirlwind

and destroy me in the storm.

23And I know you are sending me to my death—

the destination of all who live.

24“Surely no one would turn against the needy

when they cry for help in their trouble.

25Did I not weep for those in trouble?

Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?

26So I looked for good, but evil came instead.

I waited for the light, but darkness fell.

27My heart is troubled and restless.

Days of suffering torment me.

28I walk in gloom, without sunlight.

I stand in the public square and cry for help.

29Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals

and a companion to owls.

30My skin has turned dark,

and my bones burn with fever.

31My harp plays sad music,

and my flute accompanies those who weep.