Job 30

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

2 Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished.

3 They are gaunt with want and famine; They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of wasteness and desolation.

4 They pluck salt-wort by the bushes; And the roots of the broom are their food.

5 They are driven forth from the midst [of men]; They cry after them as after a thief;

6 So that they dwell in frightful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.

7 Among the bushes they bray; Under the nettles they are gathered together.

8 [They are] children of fools, yea, children of base men; They were scourged out of the land.

9 And now I am become their song, Yea, I am a byword unto them.

10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, And spare not to spit in my face.

11 For he hath loosed his cord, and afflicted me; And they have cast off the bridle before me.

12 Upon my right hand rise the rabble; They thrust aside my feet, And they cast up against me their ways of destruction.

13 They mar my path, They set forward my calamity, [Even] men that have no helper.

14 As through a wide breach they come: In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves [upon me].

15 Terrors are turned upon me; They chase mine honor as the wind; And my welfare is passed away as a cloud.

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

17 In the night season my bones are pierced in me, And the [pains] that gnaw me take no rest.

18 By [God's] great force is my garment disfigured; It bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.

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

20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me: I stand up, and thou gazest at me.

21 Thou art turned to be cruel to me; With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.

22 Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride [upon it]; And thou dissolvest me in the storm.

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

24 Howbeit doth not one stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?

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

26 When I looked for good, then evil came; And when I waited for light, there came darkness.

27 My heart is troubled, and resteth not; Days of affliction are come upon me.

28 I go mourning without the sun: I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.

29 I am a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.

30 My skin is black, [and falleth] from me, And my bones are burned with heat.

31 Therefore is my harp [turned] to mourning, And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.

Job 30 Commentary

Chapter 30

Job's honour is turned into contempt. (1-14) Job a burden to himself. (15-31)

Verses 1-14 Job contrasts his present condition with his former honour and authority. What little cause have men to be ambitious or proud of that which may be so easily lost, and what little confidence is to be put in it! We should not be cast down if we are despised, reviled, and hated by wicked men. We should look to Jesus, who endured the contradiction of sinners.

Verses 15-31 Job complains a great deal. Harbouring hard thoughts of God was the sin which did, at this time, most easily beset Job. When inward temptations join with outward calamities, the soul is hurried as in a tempest, and is filled with confusion. But woe be to those who really have God for an enemy! Compared with the awful state of ungodly men, what are all outward, or even inward temporal afflictions? There is something with which Job comforts himself, yet it is but a little. He foresees that death will be the end of all his troubles. God's wrath might bring him to death; but his soul would be safe and happy in the world of spirits. If none pity us, yet our God, who corrects, pities us, even as a father pitieth his own children. And let us look more to the things of eternity: then the believer will cease from mourning, and joyfully praise redeeming love.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 30

Job in this chapter sets forth his then unhappy state and condition, in contrast with his former state of prosperity described in the preceding chapter: things had taken a strange turn, and were just the reverse of what they were before; he that was before in such high esteem and credit with all sorts of men, young and old, high and low, rich and poor, now is had in derision by the meanest and basest of men, whose characters are described, Job 30:1-8; and the instances of their contempt of him by words and gestures are given, Job 30:9-14; he who enjoyed so much ease of mind, and health of body, is now filled with distresses of soul, and bodily diseases, Job 30:15-19; and he who enjoyed so much of the presence of God, and communion with him, and of his love and favour, was now disregarded, and, as he thought, cruelly used by him, who not only had destroyed his substance, but was about to bring him to the grave, Job 30:20-24; all which came upon him, though he had a sympathizing heart with the poor, and them that were in trouble, and when he expected better things, Job 30:25-28; and he close the chapter, lamenting his sad and sorrowful circumstances, Job 30:29-31.