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17 My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are mine.

Are there not mockers around me? and doth [not] mine eye abide in their provocation?

Lay down now [a pledge], be thou surety for me with thyself: who is he that striketh hands with me?

For thou hast hidden their heart from understanding; therefore thou wilt not exalt [them].

He that betrayeth friends for a prey—even the eyes of his children shall fail.

And he hath made me a proverb of the peoples; and I am become one to be spit on in the face.

And mine eye is dim by reason of grief, and all my members are as a shadow.

Upright men [shall be] astonished at this, and the innocent shall be stirred up against the ungodly;

But the righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall increase in strength.

10 But as for you all, pray come on again; and I shall not find one wise man among you.

11 My days are past, my purposes are broken off, the cherished thoughts of my heart.

12 They change the night into day; the light [they imagine] near in presence of the darkness.

13 If I wait, Sheol is my house; I spread my bed in the darkness:

14 I cry to the grave, Thou art my father! to the worm, My mother, and my sister!

15 And where is then my hope? yea, my hope, who shall see it?

16 It shall go down to the bars of Sheol, when [our] rest shall be together in the dust.

18 And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

How long will ye hunt for words? Be intelligent, and then we will speak.

Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed stupid in your sight?

Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger, shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of its place?

Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the flame of his fire shall not shine.

The light shall become dark in his tent, and his lamp over him shall be put out.

The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down.

For he is sent into the net by his own feet, and he walketh on the meshes;

The gin taketh [him] by the heel, the snare layeth hold on him;

10 A cord is hidden for him in the ground, and his trap in the way.

11 Terrors make him afraid on every side, and chase him at his footsteps.

12 His strength is hunger-bitten, and calamity is ready at his side.

13 The firstborn of death devoureth the members of his body; it will devour his members.

14 His confidence shall be rooted out of his tent, and it shall lead him away to the king of terrors:

15 They who are none of his shall dwell in his tent; brimstone shall be showered upon his habitation:

16 His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off;

17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name on the pasture-grounds.

18 He is driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.

19 He hath neither son nor grandson among his people, nor any remaining in the places of his sojourn.

20 They that come after shall be astonished at his day, as they that went before [them] were affrighted.

21 Surely, such are the dwellings of the unrighteous man, and such the place of him that knoweth not God.

17 My spirit(A) is broken,
    my days are cut short,(B)
    the grave awaits me.(C)
Surely mockers(D) surround me;(E)
    my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

“Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.(F)
    Who else will put up security(G) for me?(H)
You have closed their minds to understanding;(I)
    therefore you will not let them triumph.
If anyone denounces their friends for reward,(J)
    the eyes of their children will fail.(K)

“God has made me a byword(L) to everyone,(M)
    a man in whose face people spit.(N)
My eyes have grown dim with grief;(O)
    my whole frame is but a shadow.(P)
The upright are appalled at this;
    the innocent are aroused(Q) against the ungodly.
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)

Bildad

18 Then Bildad the Shuhite(AI) replied:

“When will you end these speeches?(AJ)
    Be sensible, and then we can talk.
Why are we regarded as cattle(AK)
    and considered stupid in your sight?(AL)
You who tear yourself(AM) to pieces in your anger,(AN)
    is the earth to be abandoned for your sake?
    Or must the rocks be moved from their place?(AO)

“The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out;(AP)
    the flame of his fire stops burning.(AQ)
The light in his tent(AR) becomes dark;(AS)
    the lamp beside him goes out.(AT)
The vigor(AU) of his step is weakened;(AV)
    his own schemes(AW) throw him down.(AX)
His feet thrust him into a net;(AY)
    he wanders into its mesh.
A trap seizes him by the heel;
    a snare(AZ) holds him fast.(BA)
10 A noose(BB) is hidden for him on the ground;
    a trap(BC) lies in his path.(BD)
11 Terrors(BE) startle him on every side(BF)
    and dog(BG) his every step.
12 Calamity(BH) is hungry(BI) for him;
    disaster(BJ) is ready for him when he falls.(BK)
13 It eats away parts of his skin;(BL)
    death’s firstborn devours his limbs.(BM)
14 He is torn from the security of his tent(BN)
    and marched off to the king(BO) of terrors.(BP)
15 Fire resides[a] in his tent;(BQ)
    burning sulfur(BR) is scattered over his dwelling.
16 His roots dry up below(BS)
    and his branches wither above.(BT)
17 The memory of him perishes from the earth;(BU)
    he has no name(BV) in the land.(BW)
18 He is driven from light into the realm of darkness(BX)
    and is banished(BY) from the world.(BZ)
19 He has no offspring(CA) or descendants(CB) among his people,
    no survivor(CC) where once he lived.(CD)
20 People of the west are appalled(CE) at his fate;(CF)
    those of the east are seized with horror.
21 Surely such is the dwelling(CG) of an evil man;(CH)
    such is the place(CI) of one who does not know God.”(CJ)

Footnotes

  1. Job 18:15 Or Nothing he had remains