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 a few years are past,
I shall go the way (A)of no return.

Job Says He Has Become a Proverb

17 “My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished,
The [a](B)grave is ready for me.
(C)Mockers are certainly with me,
And my eye [b]gazes on their provocation.

“Make a pledge (D)for me with Yourself;
Who is there that will [c]be my guarantor?
For You have [d](E)kept their hearts away from understanding;
Therefore You will not exalt them.
He who (F)informs against friends for a share of the spoils,
The (G)eyes of his children also will perish.

“But He has made me a (H)proverb among the people,
And I am [e]one at whom people (I)spit.
My eye has also become (J)inexpressive because of grief,
And all my (K)body parts are like a shadow.
The upright will be appalled at this,
And the (L)innocent will stir himself up against the godless.
Nevertheless (M)the righteous will hold to his way,
And (N)the one who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

Footnotes

  1. Job 17:1 Lit graves are
  2. Job 17:2 Lit dwells
  3. Job 17:3 Lit strike hands with me
  4. Job 17:4 Lit hidden
  5. Job 17:6 Lit a spitting to the faces