New King James Version | International Standard Version |
1“But now they mock at me, men younger than I, Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock. | 1"But now they mock me; men who are far younger than I, whose fathers I would have hated to entrust with my own sheep dogs. |
2Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me? Their vigor has perished. | 2Furthermore, what could I have gained from men whose strength is gone? |
3They are gaunt from want and famine, Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste, | 3Unproductive due to poverty and hunger, they could only scratch in parched soil, devastated and desolated. |
4Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And broom tree roots for their food. | 4"They would pluck off herbs from salt marshes to eat; and roots of the broom shrub for food. |
5They were driven out from among men, They shouted at them as at a thief. | 5Driven away from human company, they were shouted at as though they were thieves. |
6They had to live in the clefts of the valleys, In caves of the earth and the rocks. | 6They lived in the most dangerous of ravines, in holes in the ground, and among rocks. |
7Among the bushes they brayed, Under the nettles they nestled. | 7They bray like donkeys among the bushes and huddle together under the desert weeds. |
8They were sons of fools, Yes, sons of vile men; They were scourged from the land. | 8Sons of fools and of uncertain reputation, they have been driven from the land by scourging." |
9“And now I am their taunting song; Yes, I am their byword. | 9"Now, I've become the object of their mocking melodies; I'm nothing but a fool's proverb to them! |
10They abhor me, they keep far from me; They do not hesitate to spit in my face. | 10They abhor me—they keep their distance from me; but they don't refrain from spitting at the sight of me. |
11Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off restraint before me. | 11But God has loosened his cord and afflicted me; so they've cast off all restraints in my presence. |
12At my right hand the rabble arises; They push away my feet, And they raise against me their ways of destruction. | 12"A wretched crowd ambushes me to my right; they trip my feet; they build up their path of calamity for me. |
13They break up my path, They promote my calamity; They have no helper. | 13They tear up my pathways; they profit from my destruction, and they need no help to do this! |
14They come as broad breakers; Under the ruinous storm they roll along. | 14They come like those who breach through a wall; as everything crashes around me they'll roll on and on! |
15Terrors are turned upon me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed like a cloud. | 15My greatest fears have overcome me; my honor is assaulted as though by a wind storm; my prosperity evaporates like a morning cloud." |
16“And now my soul is poured out because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me. | 16"Now, my soul pours itself out; the time of my affliction has taken control of me. |
17My bones are pierced in me at night, And my gnawing pains take no rest. | 17The night racks my bones; and the pain that gnaws on me will not rest. |
18By great force my garment is disfigured; It binds me about as the collar of my coat. | 18My clothes are disheveled by his forceful treatment of me; he restricts my movement like the collar of my cloak. |
19He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes. | 19"He tossed me into the mire; I've become like dust and ashes. |
20“I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me. | 20I cry for help to you, but you won't answer me; I stand still, but you only look at me. |
21But You have become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You oppose me. | 21You changed toward me, and now you're cruel to me; with your mighty hand you are persecuting me; |
22You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success. | 22you carried me off in a wind storm, making me ride on it while you toss me about as the storm roars around me. |
23For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living. | 23I know that you're about to kill me, so I'm about to go to the house that's appointed for all the living." |
24“Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins, If they cry out when He destroys it. | 24"Surely he won't stretch his hand against the needy, will he, especially if they cry to him in their calamity? |
25Have I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor? | 25Haven't I wept for the one who is going through hard times? Haven't I grieved for the needy? |
26But when I looked for good, evil came to me; And when I waited for light, then came darkness. | 26I have hoped for good, but evil came instead; I have hoped for light, but darkness came. |
27My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; Days of affliction confront me. | 27I'm boiling mad inside, and I won't remain silent; the time for my affliction to confront me has arrived. |
28I go about mourning, but not in the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help. | 28"In growing darkness, I walked without sunlight; I stood in the congregation to cry for help. |
29I am a brother of jackals, And a companion of ostriches. | 29I've become a brother to jackals, and a friend to ostriches. |
30My skin grows black and falls from me; My bones burn with fever. | 30My skin turns black all over me; and my bones seem burned from the heat. |
31My harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the voice of those who weep. | 31But my harp is in mourning; my flute plays only songs for those who are weeping." Job Asserts His Moral Innocence |
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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