Job 30:3-13

3 Through want and hard hunger they 1gnaw 2the dry ground by night in 3waste and desolation;
4 they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes, and the roots of the broom tree for their food.[a]
5 4They are driven out from human company; they shout after them as after a thief.
6 In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell, in holes of the earth and of 5the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they 6bray; under 7the nettles they huddle together.
8 A senseless, a nameless brood, they have been whipped out of the land.
9 "And now I have become their 8song; I am 9a byword to them.
10 They 10abhor me; they keep aloof from me; they do not hesitate to 11spit at the sight of me.
11 Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me, they have cast off restraint[b] in my presence.
12 On my 12right hand the rabble rise; they push away my feet; they 13cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path; they promote my 14calamity; they need no one to help them.

Job 30:3-13 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.

Cross References 14

  • 1. [ver. 17]
  • 2. Jeremiah 2:6
  • 3. Job 38:27; Zephaniah 1:15
  • 4. [1 Samuel 26:19]
  • 5. 1 Samuel 13:6; Jeremiah 4:29
  • 6. Job 6:5
  • 7. Proverbs 24:31; Zephaniah 2:9
  • 8. Psalms 69:12; Lamentations 3:14, 63
  • 9. See Job 17:6
  • 10. Psalms 88:8; [Job 17:6]
  • 11. Numbers 12:14; Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 26:67; Matthew 27:30
  • 12. Psalms 109:6
  • 13. Job 19:12
  • 14. Job 6:2

Footnotes 2

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.