17:1 My spirit is broken,1
my days have faded out,2
the grave3
awaits me.
17:2 Surely mockery4
is with me;5
my eyes must dwell on their hostility.6
17:3 Make then my pledge7
with you.
Who else will put up security for me?8
17:4 Because9
you have closed their10
minds
to understanding;
therefore you will not exalt them.11
17:5 If a man denounces his friend for a portion,
the eyes of his children will fail.12
17:6 He has made me13
a byword14
to people,
I am the one in whose face they spit.15
17:7 My eyes have grown dim16
with grief;
my whole frame17
is but a shadow.
17:8 Upright men are appalled18
at this;
the innocent man is troubled19
with the godless.20
17:9 But the righteous man holds to his way,
and the one with clean hands
grows stronger.21
Anticipation of Death
17:10 But turn, all of you,22
and come23
now!24
I will not find a wise man among you.
17:11 My days have passed, my plans25
are shattered,
even26
the desires27
of my heart.
17:12 These men28
change29
night into day;
they say,30
“The light is near
in the face of darkness.”31
17:13 If32
I hope for the grave to be my home,
if I spread out my couch in darkness,
17:14 If I cry33
to corruption,34
“You are my father,
and to the worm, “My Mother,” or “My sister,”
17:15 and where then35
is my hope?
And my hope,36
who sees it?
17:16 Will37
it38
go down to the bars39
of death?
Will40
we descend41
together into the dust?