1And now I am the laughing-stock
of people much younger
whose fathers I considered unfit
to put with the dogs of my flock.
2Not even their arms were helpful to me for all their vigor had gone,
3worn out by hunger and want.
They roamed the parched wasteland,
4they gathered salt herbs from the brush wood,
their food was the roots of the broom plant.
5They were banished by their fellowmen
who shouted at them as if they were thieves.
6They were forced to seek a home in caves,
among the ravines and rock crevices.
7They brayed among the bushes
and huddled in the underbrush.
8They were driven from the land
for being base and senseless.
9And now their sons sing of my disgrace;
I have become a byword among them.
10They do not hesitate to spit before me;
they abhor me and keep their distance.
11Seeing that God has unstrung my bow,
they have cast off restraint in my presence.
12On my right the rabble rise,
build siege ramps and lay snares.
13They attack, with none to restrain them.
14They advance, as through a wide breach;
they come in waves amid the uproar.
15Terror grips me;
my dignity is blown by the wind
my safety has vanished like a passing cloud.
16 ① And now my soul is poured out
because of my days of grief and suffering.
17At night gnawing pain pierces my bones.
My veins have no rest.
18With power God has caught my garment,
binding me about as the collar of my coat;
19throwing me into the mire,
where I am now like dust.
20I cry to you, O God, but there’s no answer;
I stand but you merely look on.
21You have become cruel to me, you pursue me
mercilessly with your strong hand.
22You lift me up and make me ride
till the storm tosses and throws me down like rain.
23I know you will bring me down to death,
the destiny of all the living.
24I did not raise my hand against the poor
when he cried for help in his disaster.
25Have I not wept for those in trouble?
Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
26But when I looked for good, I encountered evil;
when I waited for light, darkness came.
27My heart in turmoil is never at peace,
for days of distress have come upon me…
28I go about darkened, but not by the sun;
if I rise in council, it is to voice my grief.
29I have become a brother of jackals,
a companion of owls.
30My skin blackens and peels;
my bones burn with fever.
31My harp is tuned to laments,
and my flute to sounds of weeping.
- Job 30,16 The Book of Job teaches us how much we need the coming of the Son of God. On one hand, as long as God does not present himself openly, we cannot avoid doubting and resenting him. On the other hand, as long as someone feels he alone is responsible for his own perfection, he cannot feel as a child of God does nor come into the reign of grace.
