Job 30:3-13

3 They are gaunt from want and famine, Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste,
4 Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And broom tree roots for their food.
5 They were driven out from among men, They shouted at them as at a thief.
6 They had to live in the clefts of the valleys, In caves of the earth and the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they brayed, Under the nettles they nestled.
8 They were sons of fools, Yes, sons of vile men; They were scourged from the land.
9 "And now I am their taunting song; Yes, I am their byword.
10 They abhor me, they keep far from me; They do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11 Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off restraint before me.
12 At my right hand the rabble arises; They push away my feet, And they raise against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path, They promote my calamity; They have no helper.

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.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Following Masoretic Text, Syriac, and Targum; Septuagint and Vulgate read His.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.