Job 17

1 My spirit shall be made feeble; my days shall be made short, and only the sepulchre is left to me. (My breath shall be made weak; my days shall be made short, and only the grave, or a tomb, is left to me.)

2 I have not sinned, and mine eye dwelleth in bitternesses. (I have not sinned, and yet I see their bitterness toward me.)

3 Lord, deliver thou me, and set me beside thee; and the hand of each man fight against me. (Lord, save thou me, and put me beside thee; then let someone try to fight against me!)

4 Thou hast made the heart of them far from doctrine, that is, (far) from knowing of (the) truth; therefore they shall not be enhanced (and so thou shalt not let them triumph).

5 He promiseth prey to his fellows, and the eyes of his sons shall fail (yet the eyes of his sons shall fail).

6 He hath set [me] as into a proverb of the common people, and his ensample before them.

7 Mine eye dimmed at [the] indignation (My eyes dimmed with grief); and my members be driven as into nought.

8 Just men shall wonder on this thing; and an innocent shall be raised up against an hypocrite.

9 And a just man shall hold his way, and he shall add strength to clean hands. (The righteous shall hold to their way, and he who hath clean hands shall be made even stronger.)

10 Therefore all ye be turned again, and come ye; and I shall not find in you any wise man. (And so come now, let all of you try again; for thus far, I have not found a wise man among you.)

11 My days be passed; my thoughts be scattered, tormenting mine heart.

12 Those have turned the night into day; and again after darknesses hope (for) light. (They have turned the night into day; and then again after darkness, hope for some light.)

13 If I sustain, either suffer patiently, hell is mine house; and I have arrayed my bed in darknesses. (If I endure, Sheol, or the grave, shall be my house; and I shall array my bed in darkness.)

14 I said to rot (And I shall say to rot), Thou art my father; and to worms, Ye be my mother, and my sister.

15 Therefore where is now mine abiding? and who beholdeth my patience?

16 All my things shall go down into [the] deepest hell; guessest thou, whether rest shall be to me, namely there. (All my thoughts shall go down into Sheol; thinkest thou, that there shall be any rest for me there?)

Job 17 Commentary

Chapter 17

Job appeals from man to God. (1-9) His hope is not in life, but in death. (10-16)

Verses 1-9 Job reflects upon the harsh censures his friends had passed upon him, and, looking on himself as a dying man, he appeals to God. Our time is ending. It concerns us carefully to redeem the days of time, and to spend them in getting ready for eternity. We see the good use the righteous should make of Job's afflictions from God, from enemies, and from friends. Instead of being discouraged in the service of God, by the hard usage this faithful servant of God met with, they should be made bold to proceed and persevere therein. Those who keep their eye upon heaven as their end, will keep their feet in the paths of religion as their way, whatever difficulties and discouragements they may meet with.

Verses 10-16 Job's friends had pretended to comfort him with the hope of his return to a prosperous estate; he here shows that those do not go wisely about the work of comforting the afflicted, who fetch their comforts from the possibility of recovery in this world. It is our wisdom to comfort ourselves, and others, in distress, with that which will not fail; the promise of God, his love and grace, and a well-grounded hope of eternal life. See how Job reconciles himself to the grave. Let this make believers willing to die; it is but going to bed; they are weary, and it is time that they were in their beds. Why should not they go willingly when their Father calls them? Let us remember our bodies are allied to corruption, the worm and the dust; and let us seek for that lively hope which shall be fulfilled, when the hope of the wicked shall be put out in darkness; that when our bodies are in the grave, our souls may enjoy the rest reserved for the people of God.

Chapter Summary

\\INTRODUCTION JOB 17\\

In this chapter Job not only enlarges upon the reason given in the
preceding chapter, why he was desirous of an advocate with God, and one
to plead his cause with him for him, Job 17:1; but adds other reasons
taken from the usage of his friends, from the impossibility of any but
a divine Person being his surety; and of anyone being provided and
appointed as such but by God himself; from the insufficiency of his
friends to judge of his cause, and from the condition and circumstances
he was in, Job 17:2-7; then he takes notice of the effects his present
case would have on good men, that though they might be astonished at
it, they would be filled with indignation against hypocrites, and would
not be moved and stumbled by his afflictions to apostatize from and
desert the good ways of God, Job 17:8,9; after which he addresses his
friends, and either calls upon them to renew the dispute with him, or
repent of their notions, and join with him in his sentiments,
Job 17:10; and lastly describes his state and circumstances, according
to his apprehension of things, observing the shortness of his life, and
the darkness of the dispensation he was under, through one thing and
another, Job 17:11,12; that he had nothing but the grave in view,
which, and its attendants, he had made very familiar with him,
Job 17:13,14; and that he had no hope of restoration to a better
condition, as to his outward circumstances, and that he, and his hopes
his friends would have him entertain, and they also, would go down
together to the grave, and there should lie in the dust, and rest
together till the morning of the resurrection, Job 17:15,16.