^30:1 Now, however, those younger in time deride me, whose fathers I did not deign to place with the dogs of my flock;
^30:2 whose strength of hands was as nothing to me, and they were thought unworthy of life itself,
^30:3 barren through want and hunger; they gnawed in the wilderness, squalid with calamity and misery,
^30:4 and they chewed herbs and the bark of trees, and the root of junipers was their food;
^30:5 snatching these things from the valleys, when they had found individual things, they ran to them with shouting;
^30:6 they dwelt in the deserts of torrents and in caverns of the earth or upon gravel;
^30:7 they rejoiced among such things, and they counted it delights to be under brambles:
^30:8 sons of fools and of ignoble men, and not appearing at all on the earth.
^30:9 Now I have been turned into their song, and I have become a proverb to them.
^30:10 They abominate me and flee far from me, and they are not afraid to spit upon my face.
^30:11 For he has opened his quiver and afflicted me, and has put a bridle in my mouth.
^30:12 At the right hand of the rising of my calamity they immediately rose up. They overturned my feet and oppressed me with their paths as with waves.
^30:13 They scattered my ways, they lay in wait for me and prevailed, and there was none to bring help.
^30:14 As through a breached wall and an opened gate they rushed upon me and rolled down to my miseries.
^30:15 I have been reduced to nothing: you have taken away my desire like the wind, and like a cloud my salvation has passed by.
^30:16 Now, however, my soul withers within myself, and days of affliction possess me.
^30:17 At night my bone is pierced with pains, and those who devour me do not sleep.
^30:18 In their multitude my garment is consumed, and they have girded me like the hood of a tunic.
^30:19 I have been compared to mud and made like embers and ashes.
^30:20 I will cry to you and you will not hear me; I stand, and you do not look upon me.
^30:21 You have changed toward me into a cruel one, and in the hardness of your hand you oppose me.
^30:22 You have lifted me up and, setting me as if upon the wind, have crushed me violently.
^30:23 I know that you will hand me over to death, where a house has been appointed for every living thing.
^30:24 Yet nevertheless you do not put forth your hand for their consumption, and if they fall, you yourself will save.
^30:25 Once I wept over him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion for the poor:
^30:26 I expected good things, and evils came to me; I awaited light, and darknesses rushed in.
^30:27 My inward parts boiled without any rest; days of affliction overtook me.
^30:28 Grieving, I went about; rising without fury, I cried out in the crowd.
^30:29 I was a brother of dragons and a companion of ostriches.
^30:30 My skin has been blackened over me, and my bones have dried up because of heat.
^30:31 My harp has been turned into mourning, and my instrument into the voice of those who weep.

402. Now, however, those younger in time deride me, etc. After he had enumerated many things pertaining to the prosperity that he had had in the preceding time, here he enumerates the adversities that he was then suffering,

and first indeed, in contrast to his former glory and reverence, he shows that at present he is held in contempt. Now someone bears the contempt of another more grievously in proportion as the person of the one who contemns is more abject; whence he shows that those by whom he was contemned were abject in many ways:

first indeed by age, whence he says: Now, however, those younger in time deride me, in contrast to what he had said above: The young men saw me and hid themselves, and the old men, rising, stood.

Second, by ignobility, when he adds: whose fathers I did not deign to place with the dogs of my flock, that is, I did not regard them as worthy that I should take them up into the services of my house, however lowly, for example, to the care of the dogs; and this corresponds by opposition to what he had said above: The princes ceased to speak.

Third, with respect to the smallness of their power, whence he adds: whose, namely, of those deriding, or even of their fathers, strength of hands was as nothing to me, that is, I weighed all their power lightly as though it were nothing; and this corresponds by opposition to what he had said above: The leaders restrained their voice.

Fourth, with respect to dishonorableness, whence he adds: and they were thought unworthy of life itself, namely, because of the multitude of grave sins; and this corresponds by opposition to what he had said above: The ear that heard called me blessed, and so forth.

Fifth, with respect to poverty, whence he adds: through want, namely, with respect to the lack of things, and hunger, with respect to the affliction consequent upon this, barren, that is, unable to bear fruit, in contrast to what he had said of himself above: the rock poured out streams of oil for me.

Sixth, with respect to the grievous life they led, whence he adds: they gnawed in the wilderness, that is, they used coarse foods that they sought in deserts, such as acorns or other things of this kind, because they did not have the fruits of fields on account of want; and he shows the effect of this way of life, adding: squalid, that is, disfigured, with calamity, with respect to the affliction of their own body, and misery, with respect to exterior adversities. Then he consequently explains what they gnawed when he adds: and they chewed herbs, namely, wild and raw, and the bark of trees, and the root of junipers was their food, in which he shows the coarseness and vileness of their food. But he consequently shows that they did not even abound in such vile foods of this kind, showing that they acquired such foods both laboriously, which he signifies when he says: snatching these things from the valleys, that is, taking them with great difficulty because of the ascent and descent; and in small quantity, which he signifies when he says: when they had found individual things; and with a certain contention, which he signifies when he says: they ran to them with shouting, so that, namely, one might get there before another. And all these things correspond by opposition to what he had said above: I washed my feet with butter.

Seventh, he shows their abjection on the part of their dwelling, because, namely, they did not have houses in which to remain, which he signifies, adding: they dwelt in the deserts of torrents, that is, in the dried-up beds of torrents, in which they protected themselves from the heat, and in caverns of the earth, namely, for shade, or upon gravel, namely, because of the refreshment of nearby water or because of the softness of the sand. And this also seemed pleasant to them when they could find such places for dwelling, whence he adds: they rejoiced among such things, as though not even having an abundance of such places; and if at some time it happened that they found more convenient places, they regarded this as delightful, whence he adds: and to be under brambles, that is, under the shade of small trees, they counted as delights, because, namely, such a place was more convenient for dwelling than the preceding ones. But this seems to correspond by opposition to what he had said above: In my little nest I shall die. Having enumerated their miseries one by one, as though by way of epilogue, he gathers together what has been said, adding: sons of fools, namely, in mind, and of ignoble men, namely, in birth, and not appearing at all on the earth, that is, conspicuous by no dignity or glory.

403. Consequently he explains what he suffered from them,

and first indeed he shows that he was mocked by them with the mouth, both in jest, which he signifies when he says: Now I have been turned into their song, because, namely, they made mocking songs about him; and in serious matters, and with respect to this he adds: and I have become a proverb to them, because, namely, they commonly used Job’s misfortunes as though in proverbs, presenting him as an example of fault and misery;

second, he shows how they contemned him in heart when he adds: They abominate me, namely, as vile and unclean;

third, he shows how they contemned him in deed,

first indeed insofar as they shuddered at his presence, whence he adds: and they flee far from me, in contrast to what he had said above: They awaited me like rain;

second, however, insofar as they inflicted injuries upon him: and they are not afraid to spit upon my face, namely, as a sign of insult and contempt. And lest it be thought that he had come into contempt because of some fault committed, he shows the cause of the aforesaid contempt on the part of the divine blow,

showing first indeed that he was afflicted by God when he says: For he has opened his quiver and afflicted me. From a quiver arrows are drawn, which some use for striking; but by arrows divine scourges are understood, according to what he had said above in 6:4: the arrows of the Lord are in me, whose indignation has drunk up my spirit;

therefore the quiver of God is the divine disposition, from which adversities come upon men; and he says that it is opened because of the abundance of adversities, by which he says that he was afflicted not only exteriorly but also interiorly.

Second, he asserts that he was impeded by God, so that he could not even repel his injuries by a word; whence he adds: and he has put a bridle in my mouth, because, namely, through the divine scourges confidence in responding was taken away from him, since others were taking arguments against him from those very scourges.

404. He consequently shows that adversities of this kind were sent upon him by God from the fact that they came upon him beyond the usual manner of human adversities,

and he shows this first from the place whence the adversities came. For attacks are accustomed, especially in those lands, to arise from the northern part, in which barbarous nations and men more fierce and warlike dwelt, according to Jeremiah 1:14: From the north every evil will be spread; but the assailants of blessed Job came from the southern part, where men less warlike and fierce are accustomed to dwell. For it was said above that his adversity began from the Sabeans, who took the oxen and donkeys and killed the servants; whence he says: At the right hand of the East, that is, from the southern part, which is on the right with respect to the East—for if someone turns himself toward the East, the south will be on his right—my calamities immediately rose up, that is, at once from the beginning, when the Sabeans rushed in.

405. Second, he shows that his adversities were beyond the common manner with respect to the multiplicity of the attack: for he was attacked both with respect to the loss of goods, from which a man has the capacity to act, which is signified by the feet, whence he adds: They overturned my feet, that is, they destroyed all my capacities, and they did this easily and totally, whence he adds: and oppressed, namely, my aforesaid feet, with their paths, as though in their passing without any difficulty; and he adds an example when he says: as with waves: for the waves of the sea both suddenly cover the land or a ship and totally swallow it up. But once the feet, that is, the capacities, have been overturned, it follows consequently that his progress has been impeded, whence there follows: They scattered my ways, that is, all the progress of my works. Further, they also persecuted me in person, and deceitfully, which he signifies when he adds: they lay in wait for me, and powerfully, in what he adds: and prevailed, and without opposition, because there was no one to impede them in the act itself, whence he adds: and there was none to bring help, namely, to me while I was being oppressed by them, nor even anyone who would impede them from approaching me, whence he adds: As through a breached wall and an opened gate they rushed upon me, that is, as if there had been no obstacle, neither from the very substance of the affair, which is signified by the wall, nor from human solicitude, which is signified by the gate. But entering upon me so freely, they did not take pity, whence he adds: and they rolled down to my miseries, that is, they wholly intended this, to render me miserable.

406. Third, he shows that adversities of this kind were sent by God from their effect, because, namely, through them he was totally destitute, whence he adds: I have been reduced to nothing, which he says because nothing of his former prosperity had remained to him,

which indeed consisted in two things:

in one way, indeed, in exterior things, which he had lost through violence, whence he adds: he has taken away like the wind, namely, through violence, my desire, that is, every desirable thing that I had in exterior things;

in another way his prosperity consisted in the health of his own person, and with respect to this he adds: and like a cloud, that is, suddenly and totally, my salvation has passed by, namely, the salvation of my person. But when desirable goods had been taken away, his soul remained in sadness, whence he adds: Now, however, within myself my soul withers, namely, through sadness; for he could not fail to be saddened, with his children and possessions lost. But with bodily health departing, it followed that he also felt bodily pain, which did not give him rest even by day, whence he adds: and days of affliction possess me, that is, of bodily pain, which was also aggravated at night, whence he adds: At night my bone is pierced with pains, as though saying: my pains increase so much at night that it seems to me that they reach even to the piercing of my bones.

But he shows that the cause of the pain was from putrefied wounds, whence he adds: and those who devour me, namely, the worms generated from the putrefaction of the wounds, do not sleep, because, namely, they gave him no rest; and to show their multitude, he adds: In their multitude my garment is consumed, as though saying: so great is the multitude of worms that they not only eat the flesh but even gnaw away the garments; and to show that they are not in only one part of the body, but are spread as it were through the whole body even to the head, he adds: and they have girded me like the hood of a tunic, as though saying: because of their multitude they are not contained under the covering of the bandage and garment, but burst out into the open and surround the neck. From this kind of punishment he shows that he was made abominable to men, whence he adds: I have been compared to mud, namely, so that because of the multitude of putrefaction and worms no one wishes to approach me, just as neither does one approach mud, and I have been made like embers and ashes, that is, utterly cast down and held in contempt.

407. Now those who are despised by men are accustomed to have help from God, but he was being left by God in temporal adversity, whence he adds: I will cry to you, namely, continually asking to be delivered from this adversity, and you will not hear me, namely, not so quickly; I stand, that is, I persevere in praying, and you do not look upon me, namely, by delivering me from adversity. And thus, if I considered only the temporal state, I would regard you as a cruel and harsh enemy, whence he adds: You have changed toward me into a cruel one, namely, according as it appears from exterior scourges, while you do not spare even one who prays, and in the hardness of your hand you oppose me, namely, by afflicting me gravely. And according as appears from exterior things, it seems that you granted me my former prosperity for my evil, whence he adds: You have lifted me up, namely, in the time of prosperity, and setting me as if upon the wind, that is, in a most lofty state, yet unstable in the manner of the wind, you have crushed me violently, that is, you have gravely wounded me, as though casting me down from on high to the earth. And lest he seem to have said this from despair, he adds: I know that you will hand me over to death, as though saying: I do not suffer these things as though they were unthought of, for I know that I will still be led to a further failing, namely, even to death; but he says that he knows this because of the condition of mortal life, whence he adds: where a house has been appointed for every living thing, because, evidently, all men tend toward death as a man toward his house;

and yet through death man is not totally consumed, because the immortal soul remains, whence he adds: Yet nevertheless you do not put forth your hand for their consumption, namely, of living men, so as by your power to reduce them to nothing, and if they fall, namely, through death, you yourself will save, namely, their souls by beatifying them; and I hope for this from your kindness, however cruel and harsh you may seem to me in temporal adversities.

408. Therefore, with these things set forth concerning his former prosperity and subsequent adversity, he gathers again, as in a certain summary, what has been said, saying: Once I wept, namely, in the time of prosperity, over him who was afflicted, according to the saying of the Apostle in Romans 12:15: weep with those who weep; and I also had compassion on those suffering need, which he shows, adding: and my soul had compassion for the poor, namely, not only in affection but also in effect, as he said above; and for these works of mercy I expected good things, namely, the prosperous things of this world according to the opinion of his friends, and evils came to me, that is, adversities, by which it is clear that their opinion is false; I awaited light, that is, consolation or counsel by which I might be rescued from evils, and darknesses rushed in, namely, of bitternesses and doubts.

409. But he consequently explains the evils that came upon him, and he begins from interior evils when he says: My inward parts boiled without any rest, which can be referred to the infirmity of the interior organs proceeding from the fervor of disordered heat, or even to the affliction of the heart proceeding from the fervor of sorrow; and to show that this disquiet was exceedingly untimely, he adds: days of affliction overtook me: for all men are afflicted in the time of old age because of weakness, but he had been overtaken by afflictions in youth. Then, with respect to exterior things, he adds: Grieving, I went about, that is, when I walked among men after my misery, I displayed sadness; but although sadness is a cause of anger, nevertheless this was not in me, whence he adds: rising without fury, I cried out in the crowd, namely, explaining my miseries, which indeed were partly from the lack of friends, concerning whom he adds: I was a brother of dragons, that is, those who ought to have loved me as a brother bit me like dragons, and a companion of ostriches, which, namely, are accustomed to forget even their own offspring: so they too forgot me, so as not to come to my aid.

But his adversity was partly from bodily infirmity, whence first, with respect to exterior things, he says: My skin has been blackened over me, namely, because of the interior corruption of the humors;

then, with respect to interior things, he adds: and my bones have dried up because of heat, that is, so great a force of disordered heat rushed upon me that even the marrow of my bones, as it were, dried up. But his adversity partly consisted in exterior signs of sadness, whence he adds into what the signs of joy had been changed; and these are either musical instruments, and with respect to this he says: My harp has been turned into mourning, as though saying: mourning has succeeded in place of the harp, which I used for gladness; or they are songs of the human voice, whence he adds: and my instrument, which, namely, I used for joy, into the voice of those who weep, namely, has been turned.