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Job 17 (NIV)

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¹ My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me. ² Surely mockers surround me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility. ³ "Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up security for me? ⁴ You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore you will not let them triumph. ⁵ If a man denounces his friends for reward, the eyes of his children will fail. ⁶ "God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit. ⁷ My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow. ⁸ Upright men are appalled at this; the innocent are aroused against the ungodly. ⁹ Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger. ¹⁰ "But come on, all of you, try again! I will not find a wise man among you. ¹¹ My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart. ¹² These men turn night into day; in the face of darkness they say, `Light is near.' ¹³ If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in darkness, ¹⁴ if I say to corruption, `You are my father,' and to the worm, `My mother' or `My sister,' ¹⁵ where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? ¹⁶ Will it go down to the gates of death ? Will we descend together into the dust?"