JOB 17 (NIV)
- My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me.
- Surely mockers surround me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility.
- "Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up security for me?
- You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore you will not let them triumph.
- If a man denounces his friends for reward, the eyes of his children will fail.
- "God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit.
- My eyes ahve grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow.
- Upright men are appalled at this; the innocent are aroused against the ungodly.
- Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.
- "But come on, all of you, try again! I will not find a wise man among you.
- My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart.
- These men turn night into day; in the face of darkness they say, 'Light is near.'
- If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in darkness,
- if I say to corruption, 'You are my father,' and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,'
- where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?
- Will it go down to the gates of death? Will we descend together into the dust?"
