1My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me.
2Are there not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation?
3Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me?
4For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.
5He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.
6He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret.
7Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow.
8Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite.
9The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
10But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.
11My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart.
12They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.
13If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.
14I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.
15And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?
16They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.
Understand This
Job 17, explained
What Job 17 is saying
Job continues in despair, describing himself as a man whose spirit is broken and whose days are ending. He has become a byword among the people—others spit in his face. He challenges his friends to put up a pledge for him since no one else will, and declares that if his only hope is Sheol, then hope and he will descend together into the dust.
The background behind it
The 'pledge' language (vv. 3-4) is legal terminology—Job is asking for someone to post bond on his behalf, a surety guaranteeing his case. This commercial-legal metaphor extends the courtroom imagery that pervades his speeches and reflects ancient Near Eastern legal practice.
Themes running underneath
The social dimension of suffering comes into sharp focus: Job has become an object of public contempt, losing not just health and wealth but honor and social standing. His challenge for a pledge expands the mediator/witness theme into concrete legal action. The chapter's ending, with hope descending into Sheol, represents the dialogue's emotional nadir.
Why it still matters
Suffering that strips away social standing and communal belonging compounds physical pain with devastating isolation. Job's refusal to accept his friends' easy answers, even in total isolation, demonstrates a commitment to truth that survives social death.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.