Job 17

17My spirit^e is broken,

my days are cut short,^f

the grave awaits me.^g

²Surely mockers^h surround me;ⁱ

my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

³“Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.^j

Who else will put up security^k for me?^l

⁴You have closed their minds to understanding;^m

therefore you will not let them triumph.

⁵If anyone denounces their friends for reward,ⁿ

the eyes of their children will fail.^o

⁶“God has made me a byword^p to everyone,^q

a man in whose face people spit.^r

⁷My eyes have grown dim with grief;^s

my whole frame is but a shadow.^t

⁸The upright are appalled at this;

the innocent are aroused^u against the ungodly.

⁹Nevertheless, the righteous^v will hold to their ways,

and those with clean hands^w will grow stronger.^x

¹⁰“But come on, all of you, try again!

I will not find a wise man among you.^y

¹¹My days have passed,^z my plans are shattered.

Yet the desires of my heart^a

¹²turn night into day;^b

in the face of the darkness light is near.^c

¹³If the only home I hope for is the grave,^d

if I spread out my bed^e in the realm of darkness,^f

¹⁴if I say to corruption,^g ‘You are my father,’

and to the worm,^h ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’

¹⁵where then is my hope—ⁱ

who can see any hope for me?^j

¹⁶Will it go down to the gates of death?^k

Will we descend together into the dust?”^l