Job now gives vent to a heart felt lament in regard to the enemies that have arisen against him due to his misfortune:
After he had listed the many prosperous things which he had enjoyed in times past, he here lists the adversities which he was then suffering. First, in contrast to his former glory and reverence, he shows that he is held in contempt now. Contempt is more difficult for a person to bear in proportion to the lack of worth of the character of the one who holds another in contempt. So he shows that those who hold him in contempt are contemptible in many ways. First, as to time, and so he says, “But now men younger in age I am make sport of me,” and this is the parallel contrary to what he said in the last chapter, “Young men saw me and hid themselves, and the aged rose and stood.” (29:8) Second, from mean origin, and so he then says, “the fathers of those men were not worthy to guard the dogs of my flock,” for I did not consider them worthy enough to assume the most ordinary services of my household, for example, taking care of the dogs. This is the parallel contrary to what he said already, “the city elders refrained from talking.” (29:9) Third, as to their meanness of power. So he says, “whose strength of hands,” either the detractors or even their fathers, “held nothing,” for I regarded all their power as worth nothing. This is contrary to what he said already, “generals governed their tongues.” (29:10) Fourth, as to their lack of honor, and so he says, “and they were not accounted worthy of life itself,” because of their numerous grave sins. This is the contrary to the parallel statement he made, “The ear which heard, blessed me.” (29:11) Fifth, as to poverty he continues, “in want,” from lack of possessions, “and hunger,” as to the affliction which attends want, “they are sterile,” for they are not capable of producing fruit. This is the contrary to the statement he made already, “The rock poured out rivers of oil for me.” (29:6) Sixth, he shows this as to the difficult life they led when he says, “They gnawed in desolate places,” for they consumed plain foods which they searched for in deserts, like acorns and other things of this sort, because they did not have the fruits of the fields, from their want. The effect of this food is that they are, “filthy,” disfigured, “with loss,” from the affliction of their own body, “and misery,” from their exterior adversities. He explains, consequently, what they gnaw when he continues, “and they ate grass,” wild and raw, “and the bark of trees and the root of the junipers was their food.” Here he shows how crude and cheap their food was. He consequently shows that they did not have an abundance of even such cheap food as this, and that they find it with great effort. He expresses this in the next verse, “They uproot these things from enclosed valleys,” for they gather them with great difficulty because of the climb down and the climb up. He shows they gather this in small quantity when he says, “when they have found each of them,” they contend over this vile food. He expresses this saying, “they ran to them shouting,” so one can arrive before the other. All these things parallel by way of opposition what he had said above, “I washed my feet in butter.” Seventh, he shows the vile character of their dwellings, because they do not have houses to live in saying, “they live in desert stream beds,” which are the dry stream beds caused by storms where they protected themselves from the heat, “and in the caverns of the earth,” because of the shade, “or in gravel,” because of the cool of the nearby water or because of the softness of the sand. It even seemed pleasant to them when they could find such places to live, and so he says, “they are happy in places like this,” as though even they did not have an abundance of these sorts of places. If at times they happen to find more comfortable places, they reckoned this as voluptuous, and so he then says, “and to live under briars,” in the shade of small trees, “they think voluptuous,” because such a place was more comfortable to lie in than the one they had before. This seems to answer by opposition what he had said before, “I will die in my little nest.” (29:18) After enumerating their miseries one by one, as an epilogue he summarizes what he has said then saying, “The sons of fools,” in mind, “and of disreputable men,” in birth, “and not known on earth at all,” conspicuous for no dignity or glory.
Go here to read the rest. Job ends the chapter with a generalized lament that he feels as if God is treating him as a foe.
