Job 30:1

“But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to put with my sheep dogs.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Job speaks to his friends and the gathered audience during his lament, marking a pivot from his former honor to his current state of disgrace. He addresses the sudden reversal where former servants now deride him.

The words — The Hebrew verb שָׂחַק (sa.cha.Ku) literally means "they have laughed" and denotes contemptuous mockery in this context. It pairs with צְעִירִים (tze.'i.Rim), "young [men]," to emphasize the inversion of social and age hierarchy.

The thread — This theme of righteous derision appears in Job 12:4, where Job calls himself a laughingstock to his friends, and in Psalms 35:15 and 69:12, where assailants and gate-sitters gather in glee over his downfall.

Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that human status is fragile and that suffering can strip away every social buffer. It requires the reader to confront the reality of humiliation without assuming it signifies divine abandonment.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְעַתָּ֤ה׀ve./'a.Tahand/ now שָֽׂחֲק֣וּsa.cha.Kuthey have laughed עָלַי֮'a.La/ion/ me צְעִירִ֥יםtze.'i.Rim[people] young מִמֶּ֗נִּיmi.Me./nimore than/ me לְיָ֫מִ֥יםle./Ya.Mimto/ days אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-whom מָאַ֥סְתִּיma.'As.tiI rejected אֲבוֹתָ֑ם'a.vo.Ta/mfathers/ their לָ֝שִׁ֗יתla./Shitto/ put עִם־'im-with כַּלְבֵ֥יkal.Vei[the] dogs of צֹאנִֽי׃tzo.N/iflock/ my

King James Version

But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.

Cross-references

Job 12:4 I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.
Psalms 35:15 But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.
Psalms 69:12 Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of drunkards.
Luke 23:35 The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
2 Kings 2:23 From there, Elisha went up to Bethel, and as he was walking up the road, a group of boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
Job 19:13 He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me.
Job 29:8 the young men saw me and withdrew, and the old men rose to their feet.
Isaiah 3:5 The people will oppress one another, man against man, neighbor against neighbor; the young will rise up against the old, and the base against the honorable.
Mark 14:65 Then some of them began to spit on Him. They blindfolded Him, struck Him with their fists, and said to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with slaps in His face.
Mark 15:17 They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head.