Job 17

My spirit^t is broken,

my days are cut short,^u

the grave awaits me.^v

Surely mockers^w surround me;^x

my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

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

Who else will put up security^z for me?^a

You have closed their minds to understanding;^b

therefore you will not let them triumph.

If people denounce their friends for reward,^c

the eyes of their children will fail.^d

“God has made me a byword^e to everyone,^f

a man in whose face people spit.^g

My eyes have grown dim with grief;^h

my whole frame is but a shadow.ⁱ

The upright are appalled at this;

the innocent are aroused^j against the ungodly.

Nevertheless, the righteous^k will hold to their ways,

and those with clean hands^l will grow stronger.^m

“But come on, all of you, try again!

I will not find a wise man among you.ⁿ

My days have passed,^o my plans are shattered.

Yet the desires of my heart^p

turn night into day;^q

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

If the only home I hope for is the grave,^s

if I spread out my bed^t in the realm of darkness,^u

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

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

where then is my hope—^x

who can see any hope for me?^y

Will it go down to the gates of death?^z

Will we descend together into the dust?”^a