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Job 17

Job Continues to Defend His Innocence

¹“My spirit is crushed, and my life is nearly snuffed out. The grave is ready to receive me.

²I am surrounded by mockers. I watch how bitterly they taunt me.

³“You must defend my innocence, O God, since no one else will stand up for me.

⁴You have closed their minds to understanding, but do not let them triumph.

⁵They betray their friends for their own advantage, so let their children faint with hunger.

⁶“God has made a mockery of me among the people; they spit in my face.

⁷My eyes are swollen with weeping, and I am but a shadow of my former self.

⁸The virtuous are horrified when they see me. The innocent rise up against the ungodly.

⁹The righteous keep moving forward, and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.

¹⁰“As for all of you, come back with a better argument, though I still won’t find a wise man among you.

¹¹My days are over. My hopes have disappeared. My heart’s desires are broken.

¹²These men say that night is day; they claim that the darkness is light.

¹³What if I go to the grave and make my bed in darkness?

¹⁴What if I call the grave my father, and the maggot my mother or my sister?

¹⁵Where then is my hope? Can anyone find it?

¹⁶No, my hope will go down with me to the grave. We will rest together in the dust!”

Job 17 (NLT)

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Job

Chapter 17

17 of 42