Job 17

1 “My spirit is crushed, my days are over; ^{a17:1 Lit. extinguished} it’s the grave for me!ISV — Job 17:1

2 Mockers surround me; I cannot stop staring at their hostility all through the night.ISV — Job 17:2

3 Offer, then, some collateral on my behalf. Is there anyone who will be my guarantor?ISV — Job 17:3

4 “Because you’re the one who closed their hearts to compassion; ^{b17:4 Lit. understanding} therefore, you won’t let them triumph.ISV — Job 17:4

5 Now as for the one who testifies against his friends to take their property, ^{c17:5 Or inheritance} even the eyes of his children will fail.ISV — Job 17:5

6 “He has made me a byword among people; I’m being spit on in the face.ISV — Job 17:6

7 My eyes have grown weak from grief; and my whole body is as thin as a shadow.ISV — Job 17:7

8 The upright are appalled over this, and the innocent person is troubled by the godless.ISV — Job 17:8

9 But the righteous person will hold to his way, and those with clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.”ISV — Job 17:9

10 “Come here now, all of you, and I won’t find a wise person among you.ISV — Job 17:10

11 My days are passed; my plans have been shattered; along with my heart’s desires.ISV — Job 17:11

12 They have transformed night into day— ‘The light,’ they say, ‘is about to become dark.’ISV — Job 17:12

13 “If my hope were that my house is the afterlife ^{d17:13 Lit. Sheol; i.e. the realm of the afterlife} itself, if I were to make my bed in darkness,ISV — Job 17:13

14 if I call out to the Pit, ^{e17:14 i.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife} ‘You’re my father!’ or say to the worm, ^{f17:14 i.e. an agent of punishment in the afterlife} ‘My mother!’ or ‘My sister!’ISV — Job 17:14

15 where would my hope be? “And speaking of my hope, who would notice it?ISV — Job 17:15

16 Will it go down to the bars that lock the doors ^{g17:16 The Heb. lacks that lock the doors} of the afterlife? ^{h17:16 Lit. Sheol; i.e. the realm of the dead} Will we descend together into the dust?”ISV — Job 17:16