Bible Commentaries
Job 30

Introduction

Job Chapter 30

Job 30:1 "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." In the last lesson, we saw a description of the life of Job before Satan attacked him. Now in this lesson, we see the depths to which he had fallen. Job was disgraced in front of the young people and the people of low character.

Job 30:2 "Yea, whereto [might] the strength of their hands [profit] me, in whom old age was perished?" The people, who had come to help Job, were no help at all. They needed help themselves. It appears, his help was from feeble people. Perhaps, they were not just feeble in age, but in ability to help.

Job 30:3 "For want and famine [they were] solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste." People who were starving to death did not have the energy to speak. They sat alone, until they were gone. They had gone into the wilderness to eat roots, or any berries they might find there. Job had helped the desolate people before, but was now desolate himself.

Job 30:4 "Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots [for] their meat." These mallows show the extremity of their need. These plants were bitter to the taste, but had some nourishment in them. They had no choice but to eat them, if they wanted to live.

Job 30:5 "They were driven forth from among [men], (they cried after them as [after] a thief;)" This shows the complete helplessness of a tribe of people, who must listen to the people who own the land. They were desolate with no where to go. They were driven from place to place, as a thief would be.

Job 30:6 "To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, [in] caves of the earth, and [in] the rocks." When I read of this, my mind goes to David who dwelled in the cliffs and caves, when he was running from Saul. He dwelt in these secret places to keep Saul from killing him, but he dwelt there, also, to keep his men from killing Saul. The places mentioned were hiding places for those on the run.

Job 30:7 "Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together." They huddled together for safety. Their speech was so unintelligible, that they sounded like asses braying.

Job 30:8 "[They were] children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth." These were some of the people with the very worst character of anyone that Job had ever known. They were not only evil themselves, but their fathers before them had been evil, as well.

Job 30:9 "And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword."

Job 30:10 "They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face." Even these people, who were of the vilest in the earth, had begun to ridicule Job. They had no respect at all for him, and even spit in his face to show their disgust of him. They thought of Job as someone even more vile than they were themselves. There are many types and shadows of Job as Christ here. They spit on Jesus. They reviled Him and hated Him, as well. Job was in very good company.

Job 30:11 "Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me." He, in the verse above, is speaking of God. Job still believed that this terrible attack upon him had come from God. I guess, in a sense, it did. He allowed Satan to do this to Job as a test to see if Job would remain loyal to God through it all. The enemies of Job had freedom to attack Job, too.

Job 30:12 "Upon [my] right [hand] rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction." This was speaking of a group of youth who had gathered like a gang, and taunted Job. They tried to trip him when he walked by them, and they put obstacles in his path that took great pain to go around. They showed no respect at all for Job. He was the laughing stock of the town.

Job 30:13 "They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper." These gangs of young men, who were no more than delinquents themselves, tried to stop Job in every step he took. They had no authority to do this. They were just trouble makers.

Job 30:14 "They came [upon me] as a wide breaking in [of waters]: in the desolation they rolled themselves [upon me]." This was speaking of a mighty force of water, as when a dam breaks. It appears, when no one was looking, they actually attacked Job physically.

Job 30:15 "Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud." All of this terrible treatment by these gangs of young boys, coupled with the shame and disgrace that Job was feeling, had him terrified. It seems, that no one was interested in the welfare of Job.

Job 30:16 "And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me." This was just saying that the afflictions of Job had been so great, that he had lost his will to live. His affliction was so great, that he could think of nothing else.

Job 30:17 "My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest." In the particular disease that many believed that Job had here, the pain in the joints and in the bones was almost unbearable at night. This was not just a skin disease.

Job 30:18 "By the great force [of my disease] is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat." His garments were changed, because of the discharge these sores gave off. He had changed often. Even at that, the clothes clung to these sores. The mention of the collar of a coat being tight meant that these disease soaked clothes clung to his body very tightly.

Job 30:19 "He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes." Job believed that God had discarded him. He sat in ashes and prayed.

Job 30:20 "I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me [not]." Job said that whether he was sitting in the ashes or standing up, God did not hear his prayer. Job knew that his only help was through the LORD. He cried to God, but seemed to get no answers.

Job 30:21 "Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me." What was happening to Job was a cruel thing. What made it even more cruel was that he believed God was doing this. He could not understand why this was happening. It was as if the hand of God was against him.

Job 30:22 "Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride [upon it], and dissolvest my substance." The very thing that Job had said would happen to the wicked man had happened to him. Job knew that he was not wicked. He felt that God had tossed him into the air as a fallen leaf would be, and blown who knows where. All of the wonderful things that God had given him had vanished away.

Job 30:23 "For I know [that] thou wilt bring me [to] death, and [to] the house appointed for all living." Job was aware that it was God who controlled how long a person lived and where they went after death of the body. He was making the statement that all men, good and evil, die. The body of flesh was not made to live forever.

Job 30:24 "Howbeit he will not stretch out [his] hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction." This is an unusual Scripture. I believe that even though they cried over the destruction of the body, God would not stop death from coming.

Job 30:25 "Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was [not] my soul grieved for the poor?" Job had wept for the poor, and God had heard. Job had been a compassionate man.

Job 30:26 "When I looked for good, then evil came [unto me]: and when I waited for light, there came darkness." Job thought he knew God. He looked for nothing but good from God. He was not expecting calamity. He daily walked in the Light of God that the Word of God teaches, and darkness came to him unexpectedly. He was not aware of the conversation that had gone on in heaven between God and Satan. Job was having difficulty understanding why all of this had happened.

Job 30:27 "My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me." Job had been living in divine health, and this terrible disease came upon him. He got no sleep or rest day or night. The pain from the disease made him feel as if there was a fire within him that would not be quenched.

Job 30:28 "I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, [and] I cried in the congregation." Job put on the clothes of mourning, he fasted, he sat in ashes and threw them upon his head. He even cried aloud in the congregation, without any answer from God.

Job 30:29 "I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls." Dragons are associated with the evil ones. Owls are settled in desolate places. His cry was loud and shrill. Perhaps, it was speaking of the crying out of Job.

Job 30:30 "My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat." At the very beginning of his sorrows, he sat for seven days out in the heat in a bed of ashes. That was enough to turn him black from the sun. This burning in the bones was, possibly, pain wracking him from within. He, probably, was running a pretty high temperature, as well.

Job 30:31 "My harp also is [turned] to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep." Job had rejoiced greatly in the LORD, before this calamity came upon him. He had played his harp and sang songs of praise and worship, before this attack upon him. Now, he had lain the harp down, and began moaning instead. His moaning was accompanied with weeping. The voice that had sung such high praises to God, now could do nothing, but moan and cry.

Job 30 Questions

1. Job said he was disgraced in front of whom?

2. What was the condition of the people in Job 30:3?

3. What were mallows?

4. They were driven from place to place, as a ________ would be.

5. Where did they dwell for safety?

6. They huddled together for __________.

7. Who did Job call them in Job 30:8?

8. Even these people, who were the vilest in the earth, had begun to ___________ Job.

9. What had they done to Job to show their utter disgust?

10. Job, in this instance, was a type and shadow of _________.

11. Who is "He" in Job 30:11?

12. Job believed this terrible attack upon him had come from ______.

13. Job 30:12 was speaking of whom?

14. What did they try to do to Job?

15. What did the author call the young men in the gangs?

16. What caused the terror of Job?

17. Where was a great deal of Job’s pain from this disease?

18. Why did Job’s garments have to be changed often?

19. What was the worst of the cruelty mentioned in Job 30:21?

20. Who had Job said would have the very problems that he was having?

21. _______ controls how long a person lives.

22. Job had been a ___________ man.

23. Job’s disease made him feel as if what was happening to him? 24. What had Job done to show his deep sorrow about what was happening to him?

25. Why was Job’s skin black?

Verses 1-9

Job 30:1-9

Introduction

Job 30

JOB’S PRESENT DISTRESS -

THE SECOND MEMBER OF THE TRILOGY: JOB’S SUFFERINGS

In this chapter, Job’s period of suffering and distress is vividly contrasted with the glory and honor of the days of his exaltation. "This chapter is perhaps the most pathetic of all Job’s poems of grief and a fitting finish to all the earlier ones."

"The repetition of `But now ... and now ... and now’ in Job 30:1; Job 30:9; Job 30:16 effectively accents the themes in which Job contrasts the bleak, turbulent present with the peaceful past. The king of counselors has become the byword of fools (Job 30:1-15). The friendly favor of God has `turned into cruelty."

This beautiful paragraph just quoted from Meredith G. Kline concludes with a sentence which we must reject, because God is not cruel, unmerciful, unfeeling or, in any manner whatever, disinterested in the trials and struggles of men. In the epilogue (Job 42) the Bible flatly declares that Job spoke the truth about God; and the interpreters, including many others besides Kline, are wrong in attributing sentiments and even sayings to Job that contradict the universal description of God, throughout every page of the Bible, as even Jonah stated it, "I knew that thou art a gracious God, merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and repentest thee of the evil" (Jonah 4:2). We shall cite other scholarly opinions in this chapter which are erroneous in this vital particular.

Job 30:1-9

THE KING OF COUNSELORS NOW THE BYWORD OF FOOLS

"But now they that are younger than I have me in derision,

Whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.

Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me?

Men in whom ripe age is perished.

They are gaunt with want and famine;

They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of wasteness and desolation.

They pluck salt-wort by the bushes;

And the roots of the broom are their food.

They are driven forth from the midst of men;

They cry after them as after a thief;

So that they dwell in frightful valleys,

In holes of the earth and of the rocks.

Under the bushes they bray;

Under the nettles they are gathered together.

They are children of fools, yea, children of base men;

They were scourged out of the land.

And now I am become their song,

Yea, I am a byword unto them."

This section describes the rejected refuse of humanity, the malcontents, the idle, the indolent, the off-scouring of the social order, which some would call the scum of the earth, the point being that even the bottom of the totem pole in their culture considered Job as inferior to themselves; and they derided and mocked him in songs and verbal taunts.

Job has been criticized by some for his low-evaluation of these people; but, in fairness, it should be observed that the evaluation here was not Job’s; it was the evaluation and judgment of the whole society in which he lived.

Watson summarized these verses as follows: "These people were gaunt with hunger and vice, herded in the wilderness where alone they were allowed to exist, eating salt-wort and broom-roots for food. The appearance of one of them prompted cries of `thieves and robbers.’ They lived in caves, and among the rocks; like wild asses they brayed in the scrub and gathered among the nettles. Base men, children of fools, having dishonored humanity, they had been whipped out of the land. Even these abhorred Job, mocking him in song and byword, even spitting in his face."

Blair pointed out that, "These people refused to work, and were too proud to beg." This left them the option of stealing and/or scrounging for whatever they might find in the wilderness. In neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament, can there be found any acceptance of people who will not work. In the Decalogue, the word from heaven is, "Six days shalt thou labor." And in the New Testament, the Divine Commandment stands: "He that will not work, don’t let him eat"! (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

"Under the bushes they bray" (Job 30:7). Rawlinson interpreted this to mean that, "The speech of those people sounded to Job more like the braying of asses than articulate speech." For reasons which are by no means clear to this writer, Driver and Peake gave the meaning here as, "They bray like donkeys under the influence of lust, and copulate with no better bed than a patch of nettles." Pope insisted that, "There is no sexual connotation here, as Peake suggested." This writer is familiar with the behavior of donkeys; and their braying is closely related to hunger, not sex. Rowley was also aware of this connection between hunger and the braying of donkeys.

"And now I am become their song; yea, I am a byword unto them" (Job 30:9). This verse belongs both to the preceding verses and to those afterward. "Job continues his lament over his changed condition; but, whereas in the preceding verses he has concentrated on the character of his tormentors, here he begins to dwell upon the effect of their torments upon him."

The eloquent words of Kline catch the spirit of these verses perfectly: "Even the juveniles of this rabble (Job 30:1) regard Job as the fitting butt of their derisive ditties (Job 30:9). No show of contempt is too mean for them (Job 30:10), as with unbridled spite (Job 30:11 b) they devise torments (Job 30:12 ff) against this ruined bourgeois, now a helpless outcast upon their dunghill domain."

E.M. Zerr:

Job 30:1. The preceding chapter closed with statements showing the honorable standing Job had with leading citizens. That was when he was prosperous and in good health. All of that changed when he became poor and otherwise unfortunate. The picture of his fallen standing is graphically drawn here. He had owned some dogs to protect his sheep. Some men were not considered good enough to associate with these dogs, and now their sons were snubbing Job.

Job 30:2-8. This paragraph describes the people to whom reference was made in the first verse. Old age was perished means their fathers were dead and they had been driven to desperate resources for their support. They had to dig up mallows, a kind of herb used for pottage, and use them for food.

Job 30:9. Men who had come to the shameful state of dependency as the preceding paragraph describes were considering themselves as too good to respect Job. He was their song and byword which means he was the subject of their jokes.

Verses 10-15

Job 30:10-15

Job 30:10-15

THE EFFECT OF THEIR TORMENTS UPON JOB

"They abhor me, they stand aloof from me,

They spare not to spit in my face.

For he hath loosed his cord and afflicted me;

And they have cast off the bridle before me.

Upon my right hand rise the rabble;

They thrust aside my feet,

And they cast up against me their ways of destruction.

They mar my path,

They set forward my calamity,

Even men that have no helper.

As through a wide breach they come:

In the midst of the ruin, they roll themselves upon me.

Terrors are turned upon me;

They chase mine honor as the wind;

And my welfare is passed away as a cloud."

"For he hath loosed his cord, and afflicted me" (Job 30:11). The word "he" in this line is suspicious. It is not God who has been the subject of affirmations in (he previous verses, but evil men; and we find strong reasons for agreement with Driver who strongly questioned this rendition. "The text here is so uncertain and ambiguous that it is impossible to determine with confidence whether these verses refer to: (1) God’s treatment of Job, or (2) to the treatment of Job by evil men."[ Judging from the context, it appears to this writer that the word "he" here should be rendered "they" instead; because the following clause, according to the rules of Hebrew parallelism demand the plural, not the singular. Certainly the RSV is wrong in ramming the word "God" into this passage. The name of the deity is not in the text. Based upon this valid rule of interpretation, Rowley, Budde, Ball, and Pope properly render the line thus: "They (Job’s tormentors) have loosed his cord." The word `cord’ here is either a bowstring or a tent cord.

Rawlinson, Peake and others make the passage say that "God has loosed Job’s bowstring, and grievously afflicted him"’ The text does not say this; and if Job said it, it is not true; therefore, we reject the interpretation that makes Job the author of a falsehood. Satan, not God, was Job’s tormentor throughout; and only in the sense of God’s allowing it to happen may it honestly be said that God afflicted Job. We resist with all our strength the efforts of so many scholars to interpret the scriptures in such a manner as to put falsehoods in the mouth of the hero of this book. The Almighty himself declared that "Job has spoken that which is right concerning me (God)" (Job 42:7). That affirmation from God Himself cannot be harmonized with allegations that Job accused God of cruelty, affliction, and other crimes against Job.

Admittedly, a number of verses in this chapter are very difficult to interpret, as Van Selms explained. "A number of statements in this chapter present difficult linguistic problems ... The reader will have to trust that we have done our level best faithfully to reproduce the Hebrew text as it has been handed down to us." In difficult places, the decision that various scholars make is influenced by their a priori judgments, and in some instances even bias against such things, for example, as predictive prophecy, etc. It appears in Job, that some have made an incorrect judgment to the effect that Job continually accused God of executing injustice upon him, something that Job did not do. As we have repeatedly warned: In passages where it seems Job is falsely accusing God of tormenting him, Job is, in no sense, blaming God, but speaking as does a bereaved mourner who says, "The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

"Upon my right hand rise the rabble" (Job 30:12). "These verses (Job 30:12-14) are a metaphor of Job’s troubles, which appear as a host besieging a city (Job 30:12), making escape impossible (Job 30:13), and finally pouring in to overwhelm him when the walls have been breached (Job 30:14)." This is one of many beautiful metaphors found in the words of Job.

The psychology of those people who so severely attacked and afflicted Job was noted by Blair. "Not only did they make a jest of Job, they made a prey of him also, and poured their wrath upon him. They blamed him for their own horrible state of existence. Though he was innocent, they gave no regard to him. They had to blame someone; so they chose to blame Job."

"Mine honor (nobility) ... and my welfare" (Job 30:15). Driver interpreted this as a reference to: "Job’s princely dignity and reputation, and to his wealth and to all of the esteem related to it."

E.M. Zerr:

Job 30:10. To spit in one’s face was an act of the greatest contempt. It was considered so much in that light that God told Moses such an act would render a person unclean for 7 days. (Numbers 12:14.) Now these vile creatures dared to use that act to express their contempt for Job.

Job 30:11. He means God had cut himself loose from Job. They means Job’s enemies and bridle means a curb or restraint. These enemies had given themselves to unrestrained persecution of the unfortunate man.

Job 30:12-13. These young enemies would force the feet of Job from his chosen path. Have no helper means these enemies found Job with no helper to resist them.

Job 30:14-15. Like a mighty flood that knows no bounds, these enemies came against Job with their persecutions.

Verses 16-24

Job 30:16-24

Job 30:16-24

FURTHER DIMENSIONS OF JOB’S MOURNFUL CONDITION

"And now my soul is poured out within me;

Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.

In the night season my bones are pierced in me.

And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.

By great force is my garment disfigured;

It bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.

He hath cast me into the mire,

And I am become like dust and ashes.

I cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me.

I stand up, and thou gazest at me.

Thou art turned to be cruel to me;

With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.

Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride upon it.

For I know that thou wilt bring me to death,

And to the house appointed for all living.

Howbeit, doth not one stretch out his hand in his fall?

Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?"

"Beginning with this paragraph and on to the end of the chapter Job turns to the familiar burden of his complaint, his actual misery."

"By God’s great force is my garment disfigured" (Job 30:18). One does not need to be a scholar to know that this is a false rendition. Does it take the "great power" of Almighty God to disfigure such a trifling thing as a garment worn by a human being? "Job’s garment seems a trivial effect of the mighty power of God." Other translations suggested by scholars are also subject to uncertainty and question. Perhaps it is best to view the passage, as stated by Driver, to be, "Hopelessly obscure or corrupt."

"He hath cast me into the mire" (Job 30:19). As this reads, we have a false charge against God, and therefore we do not accept this as the proper translation of the text. God never casts anyone into the mire. Perhaps Rowley is correct who wrote that, "The Hebrew reads. `He (or it) has cast me into the mire, and there is no indication that the subject is any different from that of Job 30:18.’ And what disfigured Job’s garment? It was his disease, not God; and we think that it was that same disease that had cast Job into the mire.

"I cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me ... thou art turned to be cruel to me ... thou persecutest me ... and thou dissolvest me in the storm ... I know that thou wilt bring me to death" (Job 30:20-23). The general opinion of scholars on these verses is that Job is here accusing God of doing all these terrible things to him; but we find it impossible to harmonize such opinions with God’s words in Job 42, "My servant Job has spoken of me the thing that is right" (Job 42:7-8). The reader knows that it was Satan, not God, who dealt so severely with Job. And, if our translation in these verses is correct (and we remain skeptical about that), then we must read Job’s words as references to what God was allowing to happen, and not as references to what God was doing against Job.

"Verse 24 is unintelligible." But some liberal scholars cannot overlook a chance like that to `emend’ the text and make it say something that fits their theories. For example, Pope wrote concerning this unintelligible verse, "Taken in its hostile sense, by implication, Job accuses God of assaulting him while he is helpless and imploring help." This cannot possibly be correct, because God twice declared that Job had spoken the truth concerning God. God never assaulted any human being while he was praying, or at any other time.

E.M. Zerr:

Job 30:16. The soul or life of Job was practically all relaxed from being overwhelmed by his afflictions.

Job 30:17. The ulcerous sores that infested the surface of his body had finally gone in and attacked the bones.,

Job 30:18. This verse describes what must have been a very uncomfortable condition. Garment is a general name for Job’s clothing and coat is rendered "a shirt" in the lexicon. Naturally the collar of a shirt fits closer to the body than the more outward articles of apparel, and would be a more approprite illustration of what he was describing. The discharges from the ulcers had been penetrating all of his clothing until they had become dry and stiff and tightened about his body like the close fitting of a shirt collar.

Job 30:19. He means that God had suffered Job to have this terrible affliction.

Job 30:20-21. Thou refers to God and the paragraph is describing the afflictions that he had caused to come upon Job. I cry should not be thought of as applying to the prayers of Job in his religious devotions. The cry was the physical longing for relief from his sufferings. Didat not hear was because God’s plan of teaching Job required that he go on with the afflictions until the desired result was accomplished.

Job 30:22. Wind means the blast from God had reduced Job to want.

Job 30:23. Job had never had it explained to him as to why he was made to suffer. He expected it to continue until death. House is a figurative name for the grave.

Job 30:24. This does not deny the resurrection, for Job has given abundant proof that he believed in such a coming event. He means God would not perform a miracle to prevent anyone from going to the grave.

Verses 25-31

Job 30:25-31

Job 30:25-31

JOB SPEAKS OF THE EVIL THAT CAME UPON HIM; NOT AS SOMETHING GOD DID TO HIM; BUT AS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED.

If Job had been full of animosity toward God, as so many of the writers seem to believe, these final verses of the chapter would have been the proper place to say it; but there’s not the slightest hint in these final verses that God was the cause of Job’s suffering.

"Did not I weep for him that was in trouble?

Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

When I looked for good, then evil came;

And when I waited for light, there came darkness.

My heart is troubled, and resteth not;

Days of affliction are come upon me.

I go mourning without the sun:

I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.

I am a brother to jackals,

And a companion to ostriches.

My skin is black, and falleth from me,

And my bones are burned with heat.

Therefore is my harp turned to mourning,

And my pipe into the voice of them that weep."

Note this paragraph. Job loves God, and trusts him, attends the assemblies, stands up and cries for help; and there’s not a word in it that may be construed as any kind of a false charge or allegations against God. How then can we explain the comment on this very paragraph? which construes it as Job’s charge that, "I was merciful; but you (God) are merciless."

In the light of all that the Holy Scriptures teach regarding the God of heaven who is merciful, slow to anger, abundant in lovingkindness, etc., and along with that truth the statement of God at the close of this book that Job had always spoken the truth concerning God, we find it difficult indeed to accept some of the translations which seem to contradict this, especially when anywhere from one or two to six or eight verses in such passages are admittedly corrupt.

E.M. Zerr:

Job 30:25. Other unfortunate men had received the sympathetic help of Job.

Job 30:26. Good and evil are not moral terms here; they refer to temporal blessings and misfortunes.

Job 30:27. When used figuratively bowels refers to the emotions and yearnings. The condition was prevented or preceded by Job’s afflictions.

Job 30:28. As a person without the sun would be in darkness, so Job’s afflictions spread over him the cloud of mourning.

Job 30:29. Under the same figure of speech used in the preceding verse, Job was put in the same class with these creatures of the night.

Job 30:30. The condition of Job’s skin and bones was literally caused by the ulcers.

Job 30:31. Musical instruments are used generally in times of joy. Dispensing with them figuratively means that sadness had taken the place of joy.