New Living Translation | International Standard Version |
1“But now I am mocked by people younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs. | 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. |
2A lot of good they are to me— those worn-out wretches! | 2Furthermore, what could I have gained from men whose strength is gone? |
3They are gaunt from poverty and hunger. They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands. | 3Unproductive due to poverty and hunger, they could only scratch in parched soil, devastated and desolated. |
4They pluck wild greens from among the bushes and eat from the roots of broom trees. | 4"They would pluck off herbs from salt marshes to eat; and roots of the broom shrub for food. |
5They are driven from human society, and people shout at them as if they were thieves. | 5Driven away from human company, they were shouted at as though they were thieves. |
6So now they live in frightening ravines, in caves and among the rocks. | 6They lived in the most dangerous of ravines, in holes in the ground, and among rocks. |
7They sound like animals howling among the bushes, huddled together beneath the nettles. | 7They bray like donkeys among the bushes and huddle together under the desert weeds. |
8They are nameless fools, outcasts from society. | 8Sons of fools and of uncertain reputation, they have been driven from the land by scourging." |
9“And now they mock me with vulgar songs! They taunt me! | 9"Now, I've become the object of their mocking melodies; I'm nothing but a fool's proverb to them! |
10They despise me and won’t come near me, except 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. |
11For God has cut my bowstring. He has humbled me, so they have thrown off all restraint. | 11But God has loosened his cord and afflicted me; so they've cast off all restraints in my presence. |
12These outcasts oppose me to my face. They send me sprawling and lay traps in my path. | 12"A wretched crowd ambushes me to my right; they trip my feet; they build up their path of calamity for me. |
13They block my road and do everything they can to destroy me. They know I have no one to help me. | 13They tear up my pathways; they profit from my destruction, and they need no help to do this! |
14They come at me from all directions. They jump on me when I am down. | 14They come like those who breach through a wall; as everything crashes around me they'll roll on and on! |
15I live in terror now. My honor has blown away in the wind, and my prosperity has vanished 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 life seeps away. Depression haunts my days. | 16"Now, my soul pours itself out; the time of my affliction has taken control of me. |
17At night my bones are filled with pain, which gnaws at me relentlessly. | 17The night racks my bones; and the pain that gnaws on me will not rest. |
18With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt. He grips me by 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 thrown me into the mud. I’m nothing more than dust and ashes. | 19"He tossed me into the mire; I've become like 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. | 20I cry for help to you, but you won't answer me; I stand still, but you only look at me. |
21You have become cruel toward me. You use your power to persecute me. | 21You changed toward me, and now you're cruel to me; with your mighty hand you are persecuting me; |
22You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm. | 22you carried me off in a wind storm, making me ride on it while you toss me about as the storm roars around me. |
23And I know you are sending me to my death— the destination of all who live. | 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 no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help in their trouble. | 24"Surely he won't stretch his hand against the needy, will he, especially if they cry to him in their calamity? |
25Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy? | 25Haven't I wept for the one who is going through hard times? Haven't I grieved for the needy? |
26So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell. | 26I have hoped for good, but evil came instead; I have hoped for light, but darkness came. |
27My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me. | 27I'm boiling mad inside, and I won't remain silent; the time for my affliction to confront me has arrived. |
28I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help. | 28"In growing darkness, I walked without sunlight; I stood in the congregation to cry for help. |
29Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to owls. | 29I've become a brother to jackals, and a friend to ostriches. |
30My skin has turned dark, and my bones burn with fever. | 30My skin turns black all over me; and my bones seem burned from the heat. |
31My harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep. | 31But my harp is in mourning; my flute plays only songs for those who are weeping." Job Asserts His Moral Innocence |
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. 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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