Job – Chapter 17

Old Testament16 Verses

1My spirit shall be wasted, my days shall be shortened and only the grave remaineth for me.

2I have not sinned, and my eye abideth in bitterness.

3Deliver me, O Lord, and set me beside thee, and let any man's hand fight against me.

4Thou hast set their heart far from understanding, therefore they shall not be exalted.

5He promiseth a prey to his companions, and the eyes of his children shall fail.

6He hath made me as it were a byword of the people, and I am an example before them.

7My eye is dim through indignation, and my limbs are brought as it were to nothing.

8The just shall be astonished at this, and the innocent shall be raised up against the hypocrite.

9And the just man shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.

10Wherefore be you all converted, and come, and I shall not find among you any wise man.

11My days have passed away, my thoughts are dissipated, tormenting my heart.

12They have turned night into day, and after darkness I hope for light again.

13If I wait hell is my house, and I have made my bed in darkness.

14I have said to rottenness: Thou art my father; to worms, my mother and my sister.

15Where is now then my expectation, and who considereth my patience?

16All that I have shall go down into the deepest pit: thinkest thou that there at least I shall have rest?

Reflection for Today

As Catholics read Job Chapter 17, we do so within the living Tradition that has guarded this text for two millennia.

The saints did not treat Scripture as antiquarian literature. St. Teresa of Avila, St. Francis de Sales, and countless others used passages such as this to fuel daily conversion. the Church as mother and teacher remains a practical lesson for modern disciples.

As you continue through Job, carry this chapter's lesson into your family, parish, and work. Catholic faith is always ecclesial—God speaks to us as members of Christ's Body, not as isolated individuals.

💡Catholic Reflection • Church Teachings

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