Job 17
Names of God Bible
Job Pleads with God to Declare Him Honest
17 “My spirit is broken.
My days have been snuffed out.
The cemetery is waiting for me.
2 Certainly, mockers are around me.
My eyes are focused on their opposition.
3 Please guarantee my bail yourself.
Who else will guarantee it with a handshake?
4 You have closed their minds so that they cannot understand.[a]
That is why you will not honor them.
5 (Whoever turns in friends to get their property
should have his children’s eyesight fail.)
Job Says to His Friends: I’m Still Wiser Than You
6 “Now he has made me a laughingstock for many people.
Now they spit in my face.
7 Now my eyes are blurred from grief.
Now all my limbs are like a shadow.
8 Decent people are shocked by this,
and it stirs up the innocent against godless people.
9 Yet, the righteous person clings to his way,
and the one with clean hands grows stronger.
10 “But now, all of you, come and try again!
I won’t find one wise man among you.
11 My days are passing by.
My plans are broken.
My dreams are shattered.
12 You say that night is day.
Light has nearly become darkness.
13 If I look for the grave as my home
and make my bed in the darkness,
14 if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm, ‘You are my mother and sister,’
15 then where is my hope?
Can you see any hope left in me?
16 Will hope go down with me to the gates of the grave?
Will my hope rest with me in the dust?”
Footnotes
- Job 17:4 English equivalent difficult.
Job 17
New King James Version
Job Prays for Relief
17 “My spirit is broken,
My days are extinguished,
(A)The grave is ready for me.
2 Are not mockers with me?
And does not my eye [a]dwell on their (B)provocation?
3 “Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself.
Who is he who (C)will shake hands with me?
4 For You have hidden their heart from (D)understanding;
Therefore You will not exalt them.
5 He who speaks flattery to his friends,
Even the eyes of his children will (E)fail.
6 “But He has made me (F)a byword of the people,
And I have become one in whose face men spit.
7 (G)My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow,
And all my members are like shadows.
8 Upright men are astonished at this,
And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite.
9 Yet the righteous will hold to his (H)way,
And he who has (I)clean hands will be stronger and stronger.
10 “But please, (J)come back again, [b]all of you,
For I shall not find one wise man among you.
11 (K)My days are past,
My purposes are broken off,
Even the [c]thoughts of my heart.
12 They change the night into day;
‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness.
13 If I wait for the grave as my house,
If I make my bed in the darkness,
14 If I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’
And to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’
15 Where then is my (L)hope?
As for my hope, who can see it?
16 Will they go down (M)to the gates of [d]Sheol?
Shall we have (N)rest together in the dust?”
Job 17
English Standard Version
Job Continues: Where Then Is My Hope?
17 “My spirit is broken; my days are (A)extinct;
(B)the graveyard is ready for me.
2 Surely there are mockers about me,
and my eye dwells on their (C)provocation.
3 “Lay down a pledge for me with you;
who is there who will put up (D)security for me?
4 Since you have closed their hearts to understanding,
therefore you will not let them triumph.
5 He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property—
the (E)eyes of his children will fail.
6 “He has made me (F)a byword of the peoples,
and I am one before whom men spit.
7 My (G)eye has grown dim from vexation,
and all my members are like (H)a shadow.
8 The upright are (I)appalled at this,
and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.
9 Yet the righteous holds to his way,
and he who has (J)clean hands grows stronger and stronger.
10 But you, (K)come on again, all of you,
and I shall not find a wise man among you.
11 My (L)days are past; my plans are broken off,
the desires of my heart.
12 They (M)make night into day:
‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’[a]
13 If I hope for (N)Sheol as (O)my house,
if I make my bed in darkness,
14 if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’
15 where then is my hope?
Who will see my hope?
16 Will it go down to the bars of (P)Sheol?
Shall we (Q)descend together (R)into the dust?”[b]
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
