< Job 17 >
1 “My spirit has been destroyed, My days extinguished—graves [are] for me.
My spirit will be wasted, my days will be shortened, and only the grave will be left for me.
2 If not—mockeries [are] with me. And my eye lodges in their provocations.
I have not sinned, yet my eye remains in bitterness.
3 Now place my pledge with You; Who is he that strikes hand with me?
Free me, O Lord, and set me beside you, and let the hand of anyone you wish fight against me.
4 For You have hidden their heart from understanding, Therefore You do not exalt them.
You have set their heart far from discipline; therefore, they will not be praised.
5 For a portion he shows friendship, And the eyes of his sons are consumed.
He promises prey to his companions, but the eyes of his sons will grow faint.
6 And He set me up for a proverb of the peoples, And I am a wonder before them.
He has posted me like a proverb to the people, and I am an example in their presence.
7 And my eye is dim from sorrow, And my members—all of them—as a shadow.
My eyesight has been clouded by indignation, and my limbs have been reduced, as if to nothing.
8 The upright are astonished at this, and the innocent stirs himself up against the profane.
The just will be astounded over this, and the innocent will be stirred up against the hypocrite.
9 And the righteous lays hold [on] his way, And the clean of hands adds strength.
And the just will cling to his way, and clean hands will increase strength.
10 But please return and come in, all of you, And I do not find a wise man among you.
Therefore, be converted, all of you, and approach, for I do not find in you any wisdom.
11 My days have passed by, My plans have been broken off, The possessions of my heart!
My days have passed away; my thoughts have been scattered, tormenting my heart.
12 They appoint night for day, Light [is] near because of darkness.
They have turned night into day, and I hope for light again after the darkness.
13 If I wait—Sheol [is] my house, In darkness I have spread out my bed. (Sheol )
If I should wait, the underworld is my house, and in darkness I have spread out my bed. (Sheol )
14 To corruption I have called: You [are] my father. To the worm: My mother and my sister.
I have said to decay and to worms: “You are my father, my mother, and my sister.”
15 And where [is] my hope now? Indeed, my hope, who beholds it?
Therefore, where is my expectation now, and who is it that considers my patience?
16 You go down [to] the parts of Sheol, If we may rest together on the dust.” (Sheol )
Everything of mine will descend into the deepest underworld; do you think that, in that place at least, there will be rest for me? (Sheol )