Job 30:2-12

2 A lot of good they are to me— those worn-out wretches!

3 They are gaunt from poverty and hunger. They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands.

4 They pluck wild greens from among the bushes and eat from the roots of broom trees.

5 They are driven from human society, and people shout at them as if they were thieves.

6 So now they live in frightening ravines, in caves and among the rocks.

7 They sound like animals howling among the bushes, huddled together beneath the nettles.

8 They are nameless fools, outcasts from society.

9 “And now they mock me with vulgar songs! They taunt me!

10 They despise me and won’t come near me, except to spit in my face.

11 For God has cut my bowstring. He has humbled me, so they have thrown off all restraint.

12 These outcasts oppose me to my face. They send me sprawling and lay traps in my path.

Job 30:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

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.