Job 30:2
New International Version
Of what use was the strength of their hands to me, since their vigor had gone from them?

New Living Translation
A lot of good they are to me— those worn-out wretches!

English Standard Version
What could I gain from the strength of their hands, men whose vigor is gone?

Berean Standard Bible
What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them?

King James Bible
Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?

New King James Version
Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me? Their vigor has perished.

New American Standard Bible
“Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them.

NASB 1995
“Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them.

NASB 1977
“Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them.

Legacy Standard Bible
Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them.

Amplified Bible
“Indeed, how could the strength of their hands profit me? Vigor had perished from them.

Christian Standard Bible
What use to me was the strength of their hands? Their vigor had left them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
What use to me was the strength of their hands? Their vigor had left them.

American Standard Version
Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished.

Contemporary English Version
And those who insult me are helpless themselves.

English Revised Version
Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me? men in whom ripe age is perished.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Of what use to me was the strength of their hands? Their strength is gone.

Good News Translation
They were a bunch of worn-out men, too weak to do any work for me.

International Standard Version
Furthermore, what could I have gained from men whose strength is gone?

Majority Standard Bible
What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them?

NET Bible
Moreover, the strength of their hands--what use was it to me? Men whose strength had perished;

New Heart English Bible
Of what use is the strength of their hands to me, men in whom ripe age has perished?

Webster's Bible Translation
Yes, to what might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age had perished?

World English Bible
Of what use is the strength of their hands to me, men in whom ripe age has perished?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Also—the power of their hands, why [is it] to me? On them old age has perished.

Young's Literal Translation
Also -- the power of their hands, why is it to me? On them hath old age perished.

Smith's Literal Translation
Also the strength of their hands wherefore to me? Upon them old age perished.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The strength of whose hands was to me as nothing, and they were thought unworthy of life itself.

Catholic Public Domain Version
the strength of whose hands was nothing to me, and they were considered unworthy of life itself.

New American Bible
Such strength as they had meant nothing to me; their vigor had perished.

New Revised Standard Version
What could I gain from the strength of their hands? All their vigor is gone.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Whose fathers I have disdained, and did not consider them equal to the dogs of my flocks.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
In those days that I despised their fathers and I did not value them with the dogs of my flocks
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Yea, why had I the strength of their hands? for them the full term of life was lost.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job's Honor Turned into Contempt
1“But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to entrust with my sheep dogs. 2 What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them? 3Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night.…

Cross References
Job 12:2-3
“Truly then you are the people with whom wisdom itself will die! / But I also have a mind; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?

Job 29:8-10
the young men saw me and withdrew, and the old men rose to their feet. / The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands. / The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.

Job 32:6-9
So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite declared: “I am young in years, while you are old; that is why I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know. / I thought that age should speak, and many years should teach wisdom. / But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. ...

Job 12:20-21
He deprives the trusted of speech and takes away the discernment of elders. / He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.

Job 29:21-25
Men listened to me with expectation, waiting silently for my counsel. / After my words, they spoke no more; my speech settled on them like dew. / They waited for me as for rain and drank in my words like spring showers. ...

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.

Ecclesiastes 4:13
Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.

Proverbs 20:29
The glory of young men is their strength, and gray hair is the splendor of the old.

1 Kings 12:6-11
Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How do you advise me to respond to these people?” he asked. / They replied, “If you will be a servant to these people and serve them this day, and if you will respond by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.” / But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him. ...

1 Timothy 4:12
Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. / He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, / so that no one may boast in His presence.

1 Peter 5:5
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

2 Timothy 3:2
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

Isaiah 47:6
I was angry with My people; I profaned My heritage, and I placed them under your control. You showed them no mercy; even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke.

Lamentations 5:12-14
Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders receive no respect. / Young men toil at millstones; boys stagger under loads of wood. / The elders have left the city gate; the young men have stopped their music.


Treasury of Scripture

Yes, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?

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Age Force Gain Good Hands Indeed Perished Power Profit Ripe Strength Use Vigor Vigour Whereto
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Age Force Gain Good Hands Indeed Perished Power Profit Ripe Strength Use Vigor Vigour Whereto
Job 30
1. Job's honor is turned into extreme contempt
15. and his prosperity into calamity














What use to me
This phrase reflects Job's deep sense of disillusionment and frustration. In the Hebrew text, the word for "use" can be understood as "profit" or "benefit." Job is questioning the value or advantage he could derive from those around him. This rhetorical question underscores his feeling of abandonment and the futility of relying on human strength when divine favor seems withdrawn. Historically, this reflects the ancient Near Eastern understanding of strength and utility, where one's worth was often measured by their ability to contribute physically or materially.

was the strength of their hands
The "strength of their hands" symbolizes the physical power and capability of individuals. In Hebrew, "strength" (koach) often denotes not just physical might but also the capacity to achieve or accomplish tasks. Job is lamenting the loss of this strength, which once might have been a source of support or security. In the broader scriptural context, hands are frequently symbolic of action and power (e.g., Exodus 15:6, "Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power"). Job's reflection here is a poignant reminder of the transient nature of human strength compared to the enduring power of God.

since their vigor had left them
"Vigor" in this context refers to the vitality and life force that energizes and empowers individuals. The Hebrew word for "vigor" (cheled) can also imply youthfulness or the prime of life. Job is observing that this vigor has departed, leaving those around him weak and ineffective. This loss of vigor can be seen as a metaphor for the spiritual and moral decline that Job perceives in his community. Historically, vigor was highly valued in ancient cultures, often associated with the ability to lead, protect, and provide. Job's lamentation here is not just about physical decline but also about the loss of purpose and direction, both personally and communally.

(2) Whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, is the description of the fathers; Job 30:3 seqq. describes their children. The people here spoken of seem to have been somewhat similar to those known to the ancients as Troglodytes (Herod. iv. 183, &c.), the inhabitants of caves, who lived an outcast life and had manners and customs of their own. They are desolate with want and famine. They flee into the wilderness on the eve of wasteness and desolation, or when all is dark (yester night), waste, and desolate. It is evident that Job must have been familiar with a people of this kind, an alien and proscribed race living in the way he mentions.

Verse 2. - Yes, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me? Men, who had no such strength in their hands as to yield an employer any profit - poor, weak creatures, in whom old age (rather, manly vigour) was perished. An effete race seems to be pointed at, without strength or stamina, nerveless, spiritless, "destined to early decay and premature death;" but how they had sunk into such a condition is not apparent. Too often such remanents are merely tribes physically weak, whom more powerful ones have starved and stunted, driving them into the least productive regions, and in every way making life hard for them.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Indeed,
גַּם־ (gam-)
Conjunction
Strong's 1571: Assemblage, also, even, yea, though, both, and

what use
לָ֣מָּה (lām·māh)
Preposition-l | Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

to me
לִּ֑י (lî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew

was the strength
כֹּ֣חַ (kō·aḥ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3581: A small reptile (of unknown species)

of their hands,
יְ֭דֵיהֶם (yə·ḏê·hem)
Noun - fdc | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3027: A hand

since their vigor
כָּֽלַח׃ (kā·laḥ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3624: Firm or rugged strength

had left them?
אָ֣בַד (’ā·ḇaḏ)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6: To wander away, lose oneself, to perish


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OT Poetry: Job 30:2 Of what use is the strength (Jb)
Job 30:1
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