3 For want and famine they were solitary; [1] fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. 4 Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat. 5 They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;) 6 To dwell in the clifts of the valleys, in caves [2] of the earth, and in the rocks.
3 Haggard from want and hunger, they roamed
3 Through want and hard hunger they gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation; 4 they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes, and the roots of the broom tree for their food.
3 Half-starved, scavenging the back alleys, howling at the moon; 4 Homeless guttersnipes chewing on old bones and licking old tin cans; 5 Outcasts from the community, cursed as dangerous delinquents. 6 Nobody would put up with them; they were driven from the neighborhood.
3 They are gaunt from want and famine, Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste, 4 Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And broom tree roots for their food. 5 They were driven out from among men, They shouted at them as at a thief. 6 They had to live in the clefts of the valleys, In caves of the earth and the rocks.
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.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 30:3-6
Commentary on Job 30:1-14
(Read Job 30:1-14)
Job contrasts his present condition with his former honour and authority. What little cause have men to be ambitious or proud of that which may be so easily lost, and what little confidence is to be put in it! We should not be cast down if we are despised, reviled, and hated by wicked men. We should look to Jesus, who endured the contradiction of sinners.