22 “Only a few years will pass
    before I take the path of no return.(A)

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

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

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

22 For when only a few years have elapsed,
    I’ll start down a path from which I’ll never return.”

Job Laments and Prepares for Death

17 “My spirit is crushed,
    my days are over;[a]
        it’s the grave for me!
Mockers surround me;
    I cannot stop staring at their hostility all through the night.
Offer, then, some collateral on my behalf.
    Is there anyone who will be my guarantor?

“Because you’re the one who closed their hearts to compassion;[b]
    therefore, you won’t let them triumph.
Now as for the one who testifies against his friends
    to take their property,[c]
        even the eyes of his children will fail.

“He has made me a byword among people;
    I’m being spit on in the face.
My eyes have grown weak from grief;
    and my whole body is as thin as a shadow.
The upright are appalled over this,
    and the innocent person is troubled by the godless.
But the righteous person will hold to his way,
    and those with clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.”

Notas al pie

  1. Job 17:1 Lit. extinguished
  2. Job 17:4 Lit. understanding
  3. Job 17:5 Or inheritance