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Job 17
The Voice
Job 17
The Voice
17 Job: My spirit has collapsed; my days have been blotted out;
the grave is prepared for me.
2 There are mockers all around me;
my eyes are fixed on their unwarranted opposition of me.
3 Show me a sign! Vouch for me, God!
Who is there to give me his hand, guaranteeing his pledge?
4 I think no one is there because You have closed up their minds,
made them unable to see or understand;
so You will honor none of them.
5 You have heard, “Whoever denounces his friends for land
will watch his children go blind.”
6 But God has turned me into a swear word for everyone;
I have become a symbol of human darkness;
I am the face on whom one spits.
7 All my afflictions cloud my vision;
the members of my body are wasting away;
I am a mere shadow of what it once was.
8 Those of moral fiber are appalled at this;
innocent men grow indignant at the wicked.
9 Even still, the righteous embrace their way of life;
those with clean hands go from strong to stronger.
10 By contrast, I look to you, my friends, and I say,
“Come ahead, all of you; try your words once more.”
I still won’t expect to find a wise man among you.
11 Even now my days have passed me by;
My plans lie broken at my feet;
the secret wishes of my heart grow cold.
12 And yet my friends say, this loss of hope is for good,
turning my dark night into what appears to them as day.
In the pitch darkness, these broken plans and secret wishes speak to me.
They say, “There is light nearby.”
13 If I hope only to live in the land of the dead,
if I prepare for myself a bed in the darkness,
14 If I speak to my burial pit, calling it “Father,”
and to the worms in the earth, calling them “Mother” and “Sister,”
15 Then where will I find my hope?
And who will see it?
16 Will hope go with me to the place of death?
Will hope accompany me into the ground?
Job 17
New International Version
Job 17
New International Version
17 1 My spirit(A) is broken,
my days are cut short,(B)
the grave awaits me.(C)
2 Surely mockers(D) surround me;(E)
my eyes must dwell on their hostility.
3 “Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.(F)
Who else will put up security(G) for me?(H)
4 You have closed their minds to understanding;(I)
therefore you will not let them triumph.
5 If anyone denounces their friends for reward,(J)
the eyes of their children will fail.(K)
6 “God has made me a byword(L) to everyone,(M)
a man in whose face people spit.(N)
7 My eyes have grown dim with grief;(O)
my whole frame is but a shadow.(P)
8 The upright are appalled at this;
the innocent are aroused(Q) against the ungodly.
9 Nevertheless, the righteous(R) will hold to their ways,
and those with clean hands(S) will grow stronger.(T)
10 “But come on, all of you, try again!
I will not find a wise man among you.(U)
11 My days have passed,(V) my plans are shattered.
Yet the desires of my heart(W)
12 turn night into day;(X)
in the face of the darkness light is near.(Y)
13 If the only home I hope for is the grave,(Z)
if I spread out my bed(AA) in the realm of darkness,(AB)
14 if I say to corruption,(AC) ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm,(AD) ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’
15 where then is my hope—(AE)
who can see any hope for me?(AF)
16 Will it go down to the gates of death?(AG)
Will we descend together into the dust?”(AH)
The Voice (VOICE)
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.