Job 30

King James Version

Full text for Job Chapter 30

1¶ But now [they that are] younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.

2Yea, whereto [might] the strength of their hands [profit] me, in whom old age was perished?

3For want and famine [they were] solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.

4Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots [for] their meat.

5They were driven forth from among [men], (they cried after them as [after] a thief;)

6To dwell in the clifts of the valleys, [in] caves of the earth, and [in] the rocks.

7Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.

8[They were] children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.

9And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.

10They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.

11Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.

12Upon [my] right [hand] rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.

13They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper.

14They came [upon me] as a wide breaking in [of waters]: in the desolation they rolled themselves [upon me].

15¶ Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.

16And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.

17My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.

18By the great force [of my disease] is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.

19He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.

20I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me [not].

21Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.

22Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride [upon it], and dissolvest my substance.

23For I know [that] thou wilt bring me [to] death, and [to] the house appointed for all living.

24Howbeit he will not stretch out [his] hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.

25Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was [not] my soul grieved for the poor?

26When I looked for good, then evil came [unto me]: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.

27My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.

28I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, [and] I cried in the congregation.

29I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.

30My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.

31My harp also is [turned] to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.

AI Analysis

AI Summaries

Short Summary

Job laments his profound reversal of fortune, where those younger and of low social standing now mock and abuse him. He attributes his suffering to God, whom he perceives as having turned against him, inflicting severe physical pain and emotional distress. Job contrasts his past compassion for the afflicted with his current state of utter desolation and expectation of death.

Medium Summary

Job expresses profound grief over his current degradation, where individuals of low birth and destitute background, whom he once disdained, now openly mock and physically assault him. He attributes this humiliation to God's hand, believing the Almighty has stripped him of his dignity and protection. Job vividly describes his severe physical ailments, including piercing pain, restless sinews, and disfigurement, which bind him like a garment. Emotionally, he feels consumed by terrors and affliction, lamenting that God does not hear his cries and has become cruel. He contrasts his former compassion for the poor with his current expectation of only evil and darkness, concluding that his life is irrevocably moving towards death.

Long Summary

In Job 30, Job continues his lament, focusing on the profound humiliation he endures from those far beneath his former social standing. He describes how younger, base individuals, whose fathers he would not have allowed near his flock dogs, now openly deride and abuse him. These are people who were once destitute, living in wilderness caves, eating roots, and driven from society. Job recounts how he has become their song and byword, subject to their abhorrence, spitting, and physical assaults, which he perceives as a direct consequence of God having "loosed his cord" and afflicted him. He details how these youths push him down and mar his path, acting as a destructive flood. Job then shifts to his intense personal suffering, describing terrors that pursue his soul like the wind and his welfare passing away like a cloud. His physical pain is excruciating, with bones pierced and sinews restless, and his body disfigured by disease that binds him. He feels cast into the mire, reduced to dust and ashes. A significant part of his lament is directed towards God, whom he accuses of not hearing his cries, becoming cruel, and opposing him with a strong hand. Job believes God is actively dissolving his substance and leading him directly to death, the house appointed for all living. He contrasts his past life, where he wept for the troubled and grieved for the poor, with his present reality, where he looked for good but received evil and darkness. His internal organs are in constant turmoil, and he mourns without cessation, feeling alienated like a "brother to dragons" and "companion to owls," his body ravaged by heat and his music turned to weeping.

Core Concepts

  • Social HumiliationJob expresses profound distress over being mocked and abused by those he formerly considered beneath him, highlighting a complete reversal of his social status and dignity.
  • Divine AbandonmentJob perceives that God has turned against him, loosening his protection and actively afflicting him, leading to his current suffering and degradation.
  • Physical SufferingThe chapter vividly describes Job's severe physical ailments, including piercing pain, restless sinews, disfigurement, and internal turmoil, which consume his body.
  • Emotional DespairJob conveys a deep sense of terror, affliction, and hopelessness, as he feels his soul is poured out and his welfare vanishes, leading him to believe death is his only outcome.
  • Reversal of FortuneThe text starkly contrasts Job's past life of compassion and prosperity with his current state of destitution, derision, and suffering, where he receives evil instead of good.
  • AlienationJob articulates a profound feeling of being utterly isolated and estranged from humanity, comparing himself to wild, desolate creatures like dragons and owls.