New Living Translation
Job • Chapter 17
1
“My spirit is crushed,<br>and my life is nearly snuffed out.<br>The grave is ready to receive me.<br>
2
I am surrounded by mockers.<br>I watch how bitterly they taunt me.<br>
3
“You must defend my innocence, O God (Elohim),<br>since no one else will stand up for me.<br>
4
You have closed their minds to understanding,<br>but do not let them triumph.<br>
5
They betray their friends for their own advantage,<br>so let their children faint with hunger.<br>
6
“God (Elohim) has made a mockery of me among the people;<br>they spit in my face.<br>
7
My eyes are swollen with weeping,<br>and I am but a shadow of my former self.<br>
8
The virtuous are horrified when they see me.<br>The innocent rise up against the ungodly.<br>
9
The righteous keep moving forward,<br>and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.<br>
10
“As for all of you, come back with a better argument,<br>though I still won’t find a wise man among you.<br>
11
My days are over.<br>My hopes have disappeared.<br>My heart’s desires are broken.<br>
12
These men say that night is day;<br>they claim that the darkness is light.<br>
13
What if I go to the grave<br>and make my bed in darkness?<br>
14
What if I call the grave my father,<br>and the maggot my mother or my sister?<br>
15
Where then is my hope?<br>Can anyone find it?<br>
16
No, my hope will go down with me to the grave.<br>We will rest together in the dust!”<br>