Job's Final Defense Continued

1 “But now those younger than I (A)mock me,Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.

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.

1 But now they mock(A) me,men younger than I am,whose fathers I would have refused to putwith my sheep dogs.

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.

1 “But now those younger than I mock and laugh at me,Whose fathers I refused to put with the sheepdogs of my flock.

2 “Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?Vigor had perished from them.

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

2 What use to me was the strength of their hands?Their vigor had left them.

2 Furthermore, what could I have gained from men whose strength is gone?

2 “Indeed, how could the strength of their hands profit me?Vigor had perished from them.

3 “From want and famine they are gauntWho gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,

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

3 Emaciated from poverty and hunger,they gnawed the dry land,the desolate wasteland by night.

3 Unproductive due to poverty and hunger, they could only scratch in parched soil, devastated and desolated.

3 “They are gaunt with want and famine;They gnaw the dry and barren ground by night in [the gloom of] waste and desolation.

4 Who pluck (a)mallow by the bushes,And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.

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

4 They plucked mallow(a)(B) among the shrubs,and the roots of the broom tree were their food.

4 "They would pluck off herbs from salt marshes to eat; and roots of the broom shrub for food.

4 “They pluck [and eat] (a)saltwort (mallows) among the bushes,And their food is the root of the broom shrub.

5 “They are driven from the community;They shout against them as against a thief,

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

5 They were expelled from human society;people shouted at them as if they were thieves.

5 Driven away from human company, they were shouted at as though they were thieves.

5 “They are driven from the community;They shout after them as after a thief.

6 So that they dwell in dreadful (b)valleys,In holes of the earth and of the rocks.

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

6 They are living on the slopes of the wadis,among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

6 They lived in the most dangerous of ravines, in holes in the ground, and among rocks.

6 “They must dwell on the slopes of (b)wadisAnd in holes in the ground and in rocks.

7 “Among the bushes they (c)cry out;Under the nettles they are gathered together.

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

7 They bray among the shrubs;they huddle beneath the thistles.

7 They bray like donkeys among the bushes and huddle together under the desert weeds.

7 “Among the bushes they cry out [like wild animals];Beneath the prickly scrub they gather and huddle together.

8 (d)Fools, even (e)those without a name,They were scourged from the land.

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

8 Foolish(C) men, without even a name.They were forced to leave the land.

8 Sons of fools and of uncertain reputation, they have been driven from the land by scourging."

8 “They are the sons of [worthless and nameless] fools,They have been driven out of the land.

9 “And now I have become their (f)(B)taunt,I have even become a (C)byword to them.

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

9 Now I am mocked by their songs;(D)I have become an object of scorn to them.

9 "Now, I've become the object of their mocking melodies; I'm nothing but a fool's proverb to them!

9 “And now I have become [the subject of] their taunting;Yes, I am a (c)byword and a laughingstock to them.

10 “They abhor me and stand aloof from me,And they do not (g)refrain from (D)spitting at my face.

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

10 They despise me and keep their distance from me;(E)they do not hesitate to spit(F) in my face.

10 They abhor me they keep their distance from me; but they don't refrain from spitting at the sight of me.

10 “They hate me, they stand aloof from me,And do not refrain from spitting in my face.

11 “Because (h)He has loosed (i)His (j)bowstring and (E)afflicted me,They have cast off (F)the bridle before me.

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

11 Because God has loosened my(b) bowstring and oppressed me,they have cast off restraint in my presence.(G)

11 But God has loosened his cord and afflicted me; so they've cast off all restraints in my presence.

11 “For God has loosed His bowstring [attacking me] and [He has] afflicted and humbled me;They have cast off the bridle [of restraint] before me.

12 “On the right hand their (k)brood arises;They (G)thrust aside my feet (H)and build up against me their ways of destruction.

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

12 The rabble(c) rise up at my right;they trap(d) my feetand construct their siege ramp(e) against me.(H)

12 "A wretched crowd ambushes me to my right; they trip my feet; they build up their path of calamity for me.

12 “On my right the [rabble] brood rises;They push my feet away, and they build up their ways of destruction against me [like an advancing army].

13 “They (I)break up my path,They profit (l)from my destruction;No one restrains them.

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

13 They tear up my path;they contribute to my destruction,(I)without anyone to help them.

13 They tear up my pathways; they profit from my destruction, and they need no help to do this!

13 “They break up and clutter my path [upsetting my plans],They profit from my destruction;No one restrains them.

14 “As through a wide breach they come,(m)Amid the tempest they roll on.

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

14 They advance as through a gaping breach;they keep rolling in through the ruins.(J)

14 They come like those who breach through a wall; as everything crashes around me they'll roll on and on!

14 “As through a wide breach they come,Amid the crash [of falling walls] they roll on [over me].

15 (J)Terrors are turned against me;They pursue my (n)honor as the wind,And my (o)prosperity has passed away (K)like a cloud.

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

15 Terrors(K) are turned loose against me;they chase my dignity away like the wind,and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud.

15 My greatest fears have overcome me; my honor is assaulted as though by a wind storm; my prosperity evaporates like a morning cloud."

15 “Terrors are turned upon me;They chase away my honor and reputation like the wind,And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

16 “And now (L)my soul is poured out (p)within me;Days of affliction have seized me.

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

16 Now my life is poured out before my eyes,and days of suffering(L) have seized me.

16 "Now, my soul pours itself out; the time of my affliction has taken control of me.

16 “And now my soul is poured out within me;The days of affliction have seized me.

17 “At night it pierces (M)my bones (q)within me,And my gnawing pains take no rest.

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

17 Night pierces my bones,but my gnawing pains never rest.(M)

17 The night racks my bones; and the pain that gnaws on me will not rest.

17 “My bones are pierced [with aching] in the night season,And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.

18 “By a great force my garment is (N)distorted;It binds me about as the collar of my coat.

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

18 My clothing is distorted with great force;He chokes me by the neck of my garment.(f)

18 My clothes are disheveled by his forceful treatment of me; he restricts my movement like the collar of my cloak.

18 “By the great force [of my disease] my garment (skin) is disfigured and blemished;It binds about me [choking me] like the collar of my coat.

19 “He has cast me into the (O)mire,And I have become like dust and ashes.

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

19 He throws me into the mud,and I have become like dust and ashes.(N)

19 "He tossed me into the mire; I've become like dust and ashes.

19 “God has cast me into the mire [a swampland of crisis],And I have become [worthless] like dust and ashes.

Job Calls On God For Help

20 “I (P)cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.

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

20 I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;(O)when I stand up, You merely look at me.

20 I cry for help to you, but you won't answer me; I stand still, but you only look at me.

20 “I cry to You for help, [Lord,] but You do not answer me;I stand up, but You [only] gaze [indifferently] at me.

21 “You have (r)become cruel to me;With the might of Your hand You (Q)persecute me.

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

21 You have turned against me with cruelty;You harass(P) me with Your strong hand.

21 You changed toward me, and now you're cruel to me; with your mighty hand you are persecuting me;

21 “You have become harsh and cruel to me;With the might of Your hand You [keep me alive only to] persecute me.

22 “You (R)lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride;And You dissolve me in a storm.

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

22 You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it;You scatter me in the storm.(Q)

22 you carried me off in a wind storm, making me ride on it while you toss me about as the storm roars around me.

22 “You lift me up on the wind and cause me to ride [upon it];And You toss me about in the tempest and dissolve me in the storm.

23 “For I know that You (S)will bring me to deathAnd to the (T)house of meeting for all living.

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

23 Yes, I know that You will lead me to death—the place(R) appointed for all who live.

23 I know that you're about to kill me, so I'm about to go to the house that's appointed for all the living."

23 “For I know that You will bring me to deathAnd to the house of meeting [appointed] for all the living.

Job Says: I Am Being Punished By God

24 “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,Or in his disaster therefore (U)cry out for help?

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

24 Yet no one would stretch out his handagainst a ruined man(g)when he cries out to him for helpbecause of his distress.(S)

24 "Surely he won't stretch his hand against the needy, will he, especially if they cry to him in their calamity?

24 “However, does not one falling in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand?Or in his disaster [will he not] therefore cry out for help?

25 “Have I not (V)wept for the (s)one whose life is hard?Was not my soul grieved for (W)the needy?

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

25 Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times?Has my soul not grieved for the needy?(T)

25 Haven't I wept for the one who is going through hard times? Haven't I grieved for the needy?

25 “Did I not weep for one whose life was hard and filled with trouble?Was not my heart grieved for the needy?

26 “When I (X)expected good, then evil came;When I waited for light, (Y)then darkness came.

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

26 But when I hoped for good, evil came;when I looked for light, darkness(U) came.

26 I have hoped for good, but evil came instead; I have hoped for light, but darkness came.

26 “When I expected good, then came evil [to me];And when I waited for light, then came darkness.

27 (t)I am seething (Z)within and cannot relax;Days of affliction confront me.

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

27 I am churning within(h) and cannot rest;days of suffering confront me.

27 I'm boiling mad inside, and I won't remain silent; the time for my affliction to confront me has arrived.

27 “I am seething within and my heart is troubled and cannot rest;Days of affliction come to meet me.

28 “I go about (u)(AA)mourning without comfort;I stand up in the assembly and (AB)cry out for help.

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

28 I walk about blackened, but not by the sun.(i)I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.

28 "In growing darkness, I walked without sunlight; I stood in the congregation to cry for help.

28 “I go about mourning without comfort [my skin blackened by disease, not by the heat of the sun];I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

29 “I have become a brother to (AC)jackalsAnd a companion of ostriches.

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

29 I have become a brother to jackalsand a companion of ostriches.

29 I've become a brother to jackals, and a friend to ostriches.

29 “I am a brother to [howling] jackals,And a companion to ostriches [which scream dismally].

30 “My (AD)skin turns black (v)on me,And my (AE)bones burn with (w)fever.

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

30 My skin blackens and flakes off,(j)and my bones burn with fever.(V)

30 My skin turns black all over me; and my bones seem burned from the heat.

30 “My skin falls from me in blackened flakes,And my bones are burned with fever.

31 “Therefore my (AF)harp (x)is turned to mourning,And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

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

31 My lyre is used for mourningand my flute for the sound of weeping.(W) >

31 But my harp is in mourning; my flute plays only songs for those who are weeping."

31 “Therefore my lyre (harp) is used for [the sound of] mourning,And my flute for the [sound of the] voices of those who weep.

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