Capítulo 17

1 - My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me.

2 - Surely mockers surround me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

3 - "Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up security for me?

4 - You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore you will not let them triumph.

5 - If anyone denounces their friends for reward, the eyes of their children will fail.

6 - "God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit.

7 - My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow.

8 - The upright are appalled at this; the innocent are aroused against the ungodly.

9 - Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.

10 - "But come on, all of you, try again! I will not find a wise man among you.

11 - My days have passed, my plans are shattered. Yet the desires of my heart

12 - turn night into day; in the face of the darkness light is near.

13 - If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in the realm of darkness,

14 - if I say to corruption, 'You are my father,' and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,'

15 - where then is my hope - who can see any hope for me?

16 - Will it go down to the gates of death? Will we descend together into the dust?"