Job 17

17My strength is almost gone.

I won’t live much longer.

A grave is waiting for me.

²People who make fun of me are all around me.

I’m forced to watch as they attack me with their words.

³“God, please pay the price to have me set free.

Who else would put up money for me?

⁴You have closed the minds of those who are trying to comfort me.

They don’t understand that I haven’t done anything wrong.

So don’t let them win the argument.

⁵Suppose a man tells lies about his friends to get a reward.

Then his own children will suffer for it.

⁶“God has made everyone laugh at me.

People spit in my face.

⁷My eyes have grown weak because I’m so sad.

My body is so thin it hardly casts a shadow.

⁸Those who claim to be honest

are shocked when they see me.

Those who think they haven’t sinned

are stirred up against me.

They think I’m ungodly.

⁹But godly people will keep doing what is right.

Those who have clean hands will grow stronger.

¹⁰“Come on, all of you! Try again!

I can’t find a wise person among you.

¹¹My life is almost over. My plans are destroyed.

And so are the longings of my heart.

¹²People like you turn night into day.

Even though it’s dark you say,

‘Light is nearby.’

¹³Suppose the only home I can hope for is a grave.

And suppose I make my bed in the darkness of death.

¹⁴Suppose I say to the grave,

‘You are like a father to me.’

And suppose I say to its worms,

‘You are like a mother or sister to me.’

¹⁵Then what hope do I have?

Who can give me any hope?

¹⁶Will hope go down to the gates of death with me?

Will we go down together into the dust of the grave?”