Job 17:1-16
Job 17:1-16 The Message (MSG)
“My spirit is broken, my days used up, my grave dug and waiting. See how these mockers close in on me? How long do I have to put up with their insolence? “O God, pledge your support for me. Give it to me in writing, with your signature. You’re the only one who can do it! These people are so useless! You know firsthand how stupid they can be. You wouldn’t let them have the last word, would you? Those who betray their own friends leave a legacy of abuse to their children. “God, you’ve made me the talk of the town— people spit in my face; I can hardly see from crying so much; I’m nothing but skin and bones. Decent people can’t believe what they’re seeing; the good-hearted wake up and insist I’ve given up on God. “But principled people hold tight, keep a firm grip on life, sure that their clean, pure hands will get stronger and stronger! “Maybe you’d all like to start over, to try it again, the bunch of you. So far I haven’t come across one scrap of wisdom in anything you’ve said. My life’s about over. All my plans are shattered, all my hopes are snuffed out— My hope that night would turn into day, my hope that dawn was about to break. If all I have to look forward to is a home in the graveyard, if my only hope for comfort is a well-built coffin, If a family reunion means going six feet under, and the only family that shows up is worms, Do you call that hope? Who on earth could find any hope in that? No. If hope and I are to be buried together, I suppose you’ll all come to the double funeral!”
Job 17:1-16 King James Version (KJV)
My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, The graves are ready for me. Are there not mockers with me? And doth not mine eye continue in their provocation? Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; Who is he that will strike hands with me? For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: Therefore shalt thou not exalt them. He that speaketh flattery to his friends, Even the eyes of his children shall fail. He hath made me also a byword of the people; And aforetime I was as a tabret. Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, And all my members are as a shadow. Upright men shall be astonied at this, And the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite. The righteous also shall hold on his way, And he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: For I cannot find one wise man among you. My days are past, my purposes are broken off, Even the thoughts of my heart. They change the night into day: The light is short because of darkness. If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness. I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: To the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister. And where is now my hope? As for my hope, who shall see it? They shall go down to the bars of the pit, When our rest together is in the dust.
Job 17:1-16 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
“My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me. Surely mockers are with me, And my eye gazes on their provocation. “Lay down, now, a pledge for me with Yourself; Who is there that will be my guarantor? For You have kept their heart from understanding, Therefore You will not exalt them. He who informs against friends for a share of the spoil, The eyes of his children also will languish. “But He has made me a byword of the people, And I am one at whom men spit. My eye has also grown dim because of grief, And all my members are as a shadow. The upright will be appalled at this, And the innocent will stir up himself against the godless. Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his way, And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger. But come again all of you now, For I do not find a wise man among you. My days are past, my plans are torn apart, Even the wishes of my heart. They make night into day, saying, ‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness. If I look for Sheol as my home, I make my bed in the darkness; If I call to the pit, ‘You are my father’; To the worm, ‘my mother and my sister’; Where now is my hope? And who regards my hope? Will it go down with me to Sheol? Shall we together go down into the dust?”
Job 17:1-16 New Century Version (NCV)
My spirit is broken; the days of my life are almost gone. The grave is waiting for me. Those who laugh at me surround me; I watch them insult me. “God, make me a promise. No one will make a pledge for me. You have closed their minds to understanding. Do not let them win over me. People might speak against their friends for money, but if they do, the eyes of their children go blind. “God has made my name a curse word; people spit in my face. My sight has grown weak because of my sadness, and my body is as thin as a shadow. Honest people are upset about this; innocent people are upset with those who do wrong. But those who do right will continue to do right, and those whose hands are not dirty with sin will grow stronger. “But, all of you, come and try again! I do not find a wise person among you. My days are gone, and my plans have been destroyed, along with the desires of my heart. These men think night is day; when it is dark, 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 the grave, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘You are my mother’ or ‘You are my sister,’ where, then, is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? Will hope go down to the gates of death? Will we go down together into the dust?”
Job 17:1-16 American Standard Version (ASV)
My spirit is consumed, my days are extinct, The grave is ready for me. Surely there are mockers with me, And mine eye dwelleth upon their provocation. Give now a pledge, be surety for me with thyself; Who is there that will strike hands with me? For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: Therefore shalt thou not exalt them. He that denounceth his friends for a prey, Even the eyes of his children shall fail. But he hath made me a byword of the people; And they spit in my face. Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, And all my members are as a shadow. Upright men shall be astonished at this, And the innocent shall stir up himself against the godless. Yet shall the righteous hold on his way, And he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger. But as for you all, come on now again; And I shall not find a wise man among you. My days are past, my purposes are broken off, Even the thoughts of my heart. They change the night into day: The light, say they, is near unto the darkness. If I look for Sheol as my house; If I have spread my couch in the darkness; If I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; To the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister; Where then is my hope? And as for my hope, who shall see it? It shall go down to the bars of Sheol, When once there is rest in the dust.
Job 17:1-16 New International Version (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 anyone denounces their friends for reward, the eyes of their children will fail. “God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit. My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow. The upright 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. Yet the desires of my heart turn night into day; in the face of the darkness light is near. If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in the realm of 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?”
Job 17:1-16 New King James Version (NKJV)
“My spirit is broken, My days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me. Are not mockers with me? And does not my eye dwell on their provocation? “Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself. Who is he who will shake hands with me? For You have hidden their heart from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them. He who speaks flattery to his friends, Even the eyes of his children will fail. “But He has made me a byword of the people, And I have become one in whose face men spit. My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow, And all my members are like shadows. Upright men are astonished at this, And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite. Yet the righteous will hold to his way, And he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger. “But please, come back again, all of you, For I shall not find one wise man among you. My days are past, My purposes are broken off, Even the thoughts of my heart. They change the night into day; ‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness. If I wait for the grave as my house, If I make my bed in the darkness, If I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ And to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’ Where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it? Will they go down to the gates of Sheol? Shall we have rest together in the dust?”
Job 17:1-16 Amplified Bible (AMP)
“My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me. Surely there are mockers and mockery with me, And my eye gazes on their obstinacy and provocation. “Give me a pledge (guarantee, promise) with Yourself [acknowledge my innocence before my death]; Who is there that will be my guarantor and give security for me? But You [Lord] have closed their hearts to understanding, Therefore You will not exalt them [by giving a verdict against me]. He who denounces and informs against his friends for a share of the spoil, The eyes of his children will also languish and fail. “But He has made me a byword and mockery among the people, And I have become one in whose face people spit. My eye has grown dim (unexpressive) because of grief, And all my [body’s] members are [wasted away] like a shadow. The upright will be [astonished and] appalled at this, And the innocent will stir himself up against the godless and polluted. Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his ways, And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger. But as for all of you, come back again, Even though I do not find a wise man among you. My days are past, my purposes and plans are frustrated and torn apart; The wishes of my heart [are broken]. These [thoughts try to] make the night into the day; ‘The light is near,’ they say in the presence of darkness [but they pervert the truth]. But if I look to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) as my home, If I make my bed in the darkness, If I call out to the pit (grave), ‘You are my father’; And to the worm [that feeds on decay], ‘You are my mother and my sister [because I will soon be closest to you],’ Where now is my hope? And who regards or considers or is even concerned about my hope? Will my hope go down with me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)? Shall we go down together in the dust?”
Job 17:1-16 New Living Translation (NLT)
“My spirit is crushed, and my life is nearly snuffed out. The grave is ready to receive me. I am surrounded by mockers. I watch how bitterly they taunt me. “You must defend my innocence, O God, since no one else will stand up for me. You have closed their minds to understanding, but do not let them triumph. They betray their friends for their own advantage, so let their children faint with hunger. “God has made a mockery of me among the people; they spit in my face. My eyes are swollen with weeping, and I am but a shadow of my former self. The virtuous are horrified when they see me. The innocent rise up against the ungodly. The righteous keep moving forward, and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger. “As for all of you, come back with a better argument, though I still won’t find a wise man among you. My days are over. My hopes have disappeared. My heart’s desires are broken. These men say that night is day; they claim that the darkness is light. What if I go to the grave and make my bed in darkness? What if I call the grave my father, and the maggot my mother or my sister? Where then is my hope? Can anyone find it? No, my hope will go down with me to the grave. We will rest together in the dust!”
Job 17:1-16 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
“My spirit is broken; my days are extinct; the graveyard is ready for me. Surely there are mockers about me, and my eye dwells on their provocation. “Lay down a pledge for me with you; who is there who will put up security for me? Since you have closed their hearts to understanding, therefore you will not let them triumph. He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property— the eyes of his children will fail. “He has made me a byword of the peoples, and I am one before whom men spit. My eye has grown dim from vexation, and all my members are like a shadow. The upright are appalled at this, and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless. Yet the righteous holds to his way, and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger. But you, come on again, all of you, and I shall not find a wise man among you. My days are past; my plans are broken off, the desires of my heart. They make night into day: ‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’ If I hope for Sheol as my house, if I make my bed in darkness, if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’ where then is my hope? Who will see my hope? Will it go down to the bars of Sheol? Shall we descend together into the dust?”