< Job 17 >
1 “My spirit has been destroyed, My days extinguished—graves [are] for me.
Mi spirit schal be maad feble; my daies schulen be maad schort, and oneli the sepulcre is left to me.
2 If not—mockeries [are] with me. And my eye lodges in their provocations.
Y have not synned, and myn iye dwellith in bittirnessis.
3 Now place my pledge with You; Who is he that strikes hand with me?
Lord, delyuere thou me, and sette thou me bisidis thee; and the hond of ech fiyte ayens me.
4 For You have hidden their heart from understanding, Therefore You do not exalt them.
Thou hast maad the herte of hem fer fro doctryn, `ethir knowyng of treuthe; therfor thei schulen not be enhaunsid.
5 For a portion he shows friendship, And the eyes of his sons are consumed.
He bihetith prey to felowis, and the iyen of hise sones schulen faile.
6 And He set me up for a proverb of the peoples, And I am a wonder before them.
He hath set as in to a prouerbe of the comyn puple, and his saumple bifor hem.
7 And my eye is dim from sorrow, And my members—all of them—as a shadow.
Myn `iye dasewide at indignacioun; and my membris ben dryuun as in to nouyt.
8 The upright are astonished at this, and the innocent stirs himself up against the profane.
Iust men schulen wondre on this thing; and an innocent schal be reisid ayens an ypocrite.
9 And the righteous lays hold [on] his way, And the clean of hands adds strength.
And a iust man schal holde his weie, and he schal adde strengthe to clene hondis.
10 But please return and come in, all of you, And I do not find a wise man among you.
Therfor alle `ye be conuertid, and come ye; and Y schal not fynde in you ony wiys man.
11 My days have passed by, My plans have been broken off, The possessions of my heart!
My daies ben passid; my thouytis ben scaterid, turmentynge myn herte.
12 They appoint night for day, Light [is] near because of darkness.
Tho han turned the nyyt `in to day; and eft aftir derknessis hope liyt.
13 If I wait—Sheol [is] my house, In darkness I have spread out my bed. (Sheol )
If Y `susteyne, ether suffre pacientli, helle is myn hous; and Y haue arayede my bed in derknessis. (Sheol )
14 To corruption I have called: You [are] my father. To the worm: My mother and my sister.
Y seide to rot, Thou art my fadur; and to wormes, Ye ben my modir and my sister.
15 And where [is] my hope now? Indeed, my hope, who beholds it?
Therfor where is now myn abidyng? and who biholdith my pacience?
16 You go down [to] the parts of Sheol, If we may rest together on the dust.” (Sheol )
Alle my thingis schulen go doun in to deppeste helle; gessist thou, whether reste schal be to me, nameli there. (Sheol )