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Job Prays for Relief

17 “My spirit is broken; my days are extinct;
    the grave is ready for me.(A)
Surely there are mockers around me,
    and my eye dwells on their provocation.(B)

“Lay down a pledge for me with yourself;
    who is there who will give surety for me?(C)
Since you have closed their minds to understanding,
    therefore you will not let them triumph.(D)
Those who denounce friends for reward—
    the eyes of their children will fail.(E)

“He has made me a byword of the peoples,
    and I am one before whom people spit.(F)
My eye has grown dim from grief,
    and all my members are like a shadow.(G)
The upright are appalled at this,
    and the innocent stir themselves up against the godless.
Yet the righteous hold to their way,
    and they who have clean hands grow stronger and stronger.(H)
10 But you, come back now, all of you,
    and I shall not find a sensible person among you.
11 My days are past; my plans are broken off,
    the desires of my heart.(I)
12 They make night into day;
    ‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’[a]
13 If I look for Sheol as my house,
    if I spread my couch in darkness,(J)
14 if I say to the Pit, ‘You are my father,’
    and to the worm, ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’(K)
15 where then is my hope?
    Who will see my hope?(L)
16 Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?
    Shall we descend together into the dust?”(M)

Footnotes

  1. 17.12 Meaning of Heb uncertain

17 My spirit(A) is broken,
    my days are cut short,(B)
    the grave awaits me.(C)
Surely mockers(D) surround me;(E)
    my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

“Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.(F)
    Who else will put up security(G) for me?(H)
You have closed their minds to understanding;(I)
    therefore you will not let them triumph.
If anyone denounces their friends for reward,(J)
    the eyes of their children will fail.(K)

“God has made me a byword(L) to everyone,(M)
    a man in whose face people spit.(N)
My eyes have grown dim with grief;(O)
    my whole frame is but a shadow.(P)
The upright are appalled at this;
    the innocent are aroused(Q) against the ungodly.
Nevertheless, the righteous(R) will hold to their ways,
    and those with clean hands(S) will grow stronger.(T)

10 “But come on, all of you, try again!
    I will not find a wise man among you.(U)
11 My days have passed,(V) my plans are shattered.
    Yet the desires of my heart(W)
12 turn night into day;(X)
    in the face of the darkness light is near.(Y)
13 If the only home I hope for is the grave,(Z)
    if I spread out my bed(AA) in the realm of darkness,(AB)
14 if I say to corruption,(AC) ‘You are my father,’
    and to the worm,(AD) ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’
15 where then is my hope—(AE)
    who can see any hope for me?(AF)
16 Will it go down to the gates of death?(AG)
    Will we descend together into the dust?”(AH)