30:1 "But now those who are younger than I am laugh at me. I didn't think their fathers were fit to sit with the dogs of my flock.
30:2 Of what use to me was the strength of their hands? Their strength is gone.
30:3 Shriveled up from need and hunger, they gnaw at the dry and barren ground during the night.
30:4 They pick saltwort from the underbrush, and the roots of the broom plant are their food.
30:5 They are driven from the community. People shout at them in the same way they shout at thieves.
30:6 They have to live in dry riverbeds, in holes in the ground, and among rocks.
30:7 They howl in bushes and huddle together under thornbushes.
30:8 Godless fools and worthless people are forced out of the land with whips.
30:9 "And now they make fun of me with songs. I have become a joke to them.
30:10 Since they consider me disgusting, they keep their distance from me and don't hesitate to spit in my face.
30:11 Because God has untied my cord and has made me suffer, they are no longer restrained in my presence.
30:12 They have attacked me on my right side like a mob. They trip my feet and then prepare ways to destroy me.
30:13 Yes, they remove all traces of my path in order to destroy me. No one is there to help me against them.
30:14 They come through a wide hole [in the wall]. They crawl through the ruins.
30:15 Terrors are directed toward me. They blow away my dignity like the wind. My prosperity vanishes like a cloud.
30:16 "Now my life is pouring out of me. Days of suffering seize me.
30:17 At night God pierces my bones. My body doesn't rest.
30:18 With great strength he grabs my clothes. He seizes me by the collar of my robe.
30:19 He throws me into the dirt so that I become like dust and ashes.
30:20 "I call to you for help, but you don't answer me. I stand up, but you just look at me.
30:21 You have begun to treat me cruelly. With your mighty hand you assault me.
30:22 You pick me up and let the wind carry me away. You toss me around with a storm.
30:23 I know you will lead me to death, to the dwelling place appointed for all living beings.
30:24 "But God doesn't stretch out his hand against one who is ruined when that person calls for help in his disaster.
30:25 Didn't I cry for the person whose days were difficult? Didn't my soul grieve for the poor?
30:26 When I waited for good, evil came. When I looked for light, darkness came.
30:27 My insides are churning and won't calm down. Days of misery are ahead of me.
30:28 I walk in the dark without the sun. I stand up in public and call for help.
30:29 I'm a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.
30:30 My skin turns dark and peels. My body burns with fever.
30:31 So my lyre is used for mourning and my flute for loud weeping.
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