2 Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,

since their vigor had gone from them?

3 Haggard from want and hunger,

they roamed the parched land

in desolate wastelands at night.

4 In the brush they gathered salt herbs,

and their food was the root of the broom bush.

2 Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me,

In whom old age was perished?

3 For want and famine they were solitary;

Fleeing into the wilderness

In former time desolate and waste.

4 Who cut up mallows by the bushes,

And juniper roots for their meat.

2 A lot of good they are to me—

those worn-out wretches!

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.

2 Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me?

Their vigor has perished.

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.

2 What use did I have for their strength

since they had lost their strength to work?

3 They were thin from hunger

and wandered the dry and ruined land at night.

4 They gathered desert plants among the brush

and ate the root of the broom tree.

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

Men in whom ripe age is perished.

3 They are gaunt with want and famine;

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

4 They pluck salt-wort by the bushes;

And the roots of the broom are their food.

2 Yea, whereto should the strength of their hands profit me, men in whom vigour hath perished? 3 Withered up through want and hunger, they flee into waste places long since desolate and desert: 4 They gather the salt-wort among the bushes, and the roots of the broom for their food.

2 Of what use to me was the strength of their hands? 

Their strength is gone. 

3 Shriveled up from need and hunger, 

they gnaw at the dry and barren ground during the night. 

4 They pick saltwort from the underbrush, 

and the roots of the broom plant are their food.

2 What use to me was the strength of their hands?

Their vigor had left them.

3 Emaciated from poverty and hunger,

they gnawed the dry land,

the desolate wasteland by night.

4 They plucked mallow among the shrubs,

and the roots of the broom tree were their food.

2 What could I gain from the strength of their hands?

All their vigor is gone.

3 Through want and hard hunger

they gnaw the dry and desolate ground,

4 they pick mallow and the leaves of bushes,

and to warm themselves the roots of broom.

2 Moreover, what use to me is the strength of their hands?

With them, vigor is destroyed.

3 Through want and through barren hunger

they are gnawing in the dry region in the darkness of desolation and waste.

4 They are picking salt herbs, the leaves of bushes,

and the roots of broom trees to warm themselves.

2 Their strong hands couldn’t give me any help.

That’s because their strength was gone.

3 They were weak because they were needy and hungry.

They wandered through dry and empty deserts at night.

4 Among the bushes they gathered salty plants.

They ate the roots of desert trees.

2 “Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?

Vigor had perished from them.

3 “From want and famine they are gaunt

Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,

4 Who pluck mallow by the bushes,

And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.