The Holy Bible – Knox Translation
The Book of Job
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Chapter 17
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1
Broken my will to live, shortened my days, the grave my only prospect;
2
my eye lingers on sights of bitterness, never through my fault!✻
The Hebrew text here is generally understood as meaning, ‘There are mockers at my side, and my eye dwells on their provocations’.
3
Lord, wouldst thou but vindicate me, and set me right with thee! I care not who else is for or against me.✻
Literally, in the Latin version, ‘Deliver me, Lord, and set me close to thee, and let who will fight against me’; in the Hebrew text, ‘Go bail for me, Lord; who (else) will be my security’?
4
For these, at least, I care not; thou hast robbed their hearts of all discernment, and they shall have no cause for boasting.
5
Small thanks a man has for counting out the spoils, while his children go hungry!✻
Literally, ‘He promises spoils to his companions, and the eyes of his children will languish’. The Hebrew text is very obscure, and is thought by many to be corrupt; the copyist may have been baffled by the unexpected appearance of a proverb, perhaps on the subject of boasting.
6
A public by-word God has made me, a warning in all men’s sight,
7
my eyes grown dim, my whole frame wasted away, in my resentment.
8
Here is sore bewilderment for honest hearts; angrily do innocent men complain, to see knaves prosper,
9
will the just be true to their resolve any longer? Will they be encouraged to keep their hands clean?✻
This verse fits best into the context if it is understood as a question; those who take it as a statement regard it as an allusion to Job himself.
10
Nay, sirs, return to the charge as often as you will; I do not look to find a wise man among you.
11
Swift pass my days, my mind distracted with whirling thoughts,
12
that make night into day for me, as through the hours of darkness I await the dawn.
13
Waiting for what? The grave is my destined home; among the shadows I must make my bed at last;
14
only from corruption I claim a father’s welcome, mother’s and sister’s greeting the worms shall offer me;
15
what hope is this? Wait I patiently or impatiently, who cares?
16
Into the deep pit I must go down, all of me; even there, in the dust, shall I find rest?✻
The Hebrew text here is largely different and wholly obscure.
