FROM THE SCRIPTURE

Job 30:1-31
[1]“But now I am mocked by people younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.
[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.
[13]They block my road and do everything they can to destroy me. They know I have no one to help me.
[14]They come at me from all directions. They jump on me when I am down.
[15]I live in terror now. My honor has blown away in the wind, and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud.
[16]“And now my life seeps away. Depression haunts my days.
[17]At night my bones are filled with pain, which gnaws at me relentlessly.
[18]With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt. He grips me by the collar of my coat.
[19]He has thrown me into the mud. I’m nothing more than dust and ashes.
[20]“I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer. I stand before you, but you don’t even look.
[21]You have become cruel toward me. You use your power to persecute me.
[22]You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm.
[23]And I know you are sending me to my death— the destination of all who live.
[24]“Surely no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help in their trouble.
[25]Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?
[26]So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell.
[27]My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me.
[28]I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help.
[29]Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to owls.
[30]My skin has turned dark, and my bones burn with fever.
[31]My harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep.