Job 17:11 kjv
My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart.
Job 17:11 nkjv
My days are past, My purposes are broken off, Even the thoughts of my heart.
Job 17:11 niv
My days have passed, my plans are shattered. Yet the desires of my heart
Job 17:11 esv
My days are past; my plans are broken off, the desires of my heart.
Job 17:11 nlt
My days are over.
My hopes have disappeared.
My heart's desires are broken.
Job 17 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 39:4-5 | "LORD, make me to know my end... surely every man at his best state is wholly vanity." | Fleeting human life |
| Ps 90:9-10 | "...we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The days of our years are seventy..." | Life's brevity and end |
| Jas 4:14 | "whereas you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist..." | Life is a brief vapor, unknown future |
| 1 Pet 1:24 | "For all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass; the grass withers..." | Life's temporary nature |
| Is 40:6-7 | "All flesh is grass... The grass withers, the flower fades..." | Humanity's fragility |
| Ps 102:11 | "My days are like a lengthening shadow, and I wither away like grass." | Swift passage of time |
| Eccl 9:11-12 | "I saw under the sun... time and chance happen to them all... For man does not know his time." | Uncertainty of life's duration |
| Lk 12:20 | "But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you...'" | Human plans cut short by divine decree |
| Prov 16:9 | "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." | God's sovereignty over human plans |
| Ps 33:10-11 | "The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing... The counsel of the LORD stands forever." | Divine purpose overrides human schemes |
| Ps 42:5 | "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?" | Despair of the soul |
| Ps 69:3 | "I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim..." | Physical and spiritual exhaustion |
| Lam 3:18 | "So I say, 'My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.'" | Loss of hope and endurance |
| Job 7:6 | "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and come to their end without hope." | Similar lament on days ending hopelessly |
| Job 10:20 | "Are not my days few? Cease then, and leave me alone, that I may find a little cheer..." | Desperation over brevity and suffering |
| Prov 19:21 | "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand." | God's ultimate control |
| Is 46:10 | "declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand...'" | God's unchangeable plan |
| Rom 5:5 | "and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts..." | Hope in Christ despite trials |
| Heb 6:19 | "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary..." | Divine hope as stability |
| 2 Cor 4:16-18 | "So we do not lose heart... for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory..." | Enduring suffering with eternal perspective |
| Phil 1:6 | "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion..." | God's faithful completion of His work |
| Jer 29:11 | "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." | God's plans provide true hope |
Job 17 verses
Job 17 11 Meaning
Job 17:11 expresses Job’s profound despair, lamenting the absolute ruin of his life and future. He declares that his lifespan is complete, his future prospects are annihilated, and even the deepest desires and plans of his heart have been abruptly and violently cut off. It portrays a man utterly stripped of earthly hope, seeing his very existence as having reached an irrevocable end, and all his intentions and aspirations as shattered beyond recovery.
Job 17 11 Context
Job 17:11 is part of Job's third speech, a passionate lament in response to his friends' unyielding accusations and rigid theology. In this chapter, Job continues to voice his deep physical suffering and emotional anguish, maintaining his innocence and appealing directly to God. He feels forsaken by God and his friends, isolated, and increasingly aware of his impending death. He believes his body is decaying (v. 1), his breath is spent (v. 1), and he has no one to champion his cause on earth. Within this context, verse 11 dramatically articulates the psychological and spiritual devastation caused by his prolonged and seemingly meaningless suffering, highlighting his absolute loss of a future, hope, and any purpose for living. His earthly prospects are extinguished, leaving only the prospect of the grave.
Job 17 11 Word analysis
- My days: Referring to Job’s lifespan, existence, or allocated time on earth. It indicates the entire course of his life as he perceived it.
- are past: (Hebrew: תָּבְאֹ֥וּ, tā·ḇə·’ōw, from בּוֹא, boʾ). This verb in the Nifal imperfect indicates "to be brought (to an end), to arrive at (an end)." It signifies completion, a finishing, or an endpoint. Job feels his time is literally "up," or has "run out."
- my plans: (Hebrew: זְמֹרוֹתַי, zəmōrōṭay). The plural of זְמֹרָה (zemorah), meaning "vine branch" or "shoot." This is a vivid metaphor. Just as a vine branch grows, yields fruit, and represents future produce, Job's "plans" refer to his purposes, aspirations, prospects, and future undertakings. It speaks of vitality, growth, and potential.
- are broken off: (Hebrew: נִתְּקוּ, nittəqū, from נָתַק, nathaq). This verb means "to tear away," "pull apart," or "break loose." It implies a sudden, violent, and complete severing. It signifies total disruption and destruction, leaving no possibility of continuation or reattachment.
- the thoughts of my heart: (Hebrew: מֹורָשֵׁי לְבָבִי, mōrāšê ləḇāḇî). While literally interpretable as "possessions of my heart" or "heritage of my heart" from the root yarash (to inherit), in this poetic parallelism, it is best understood as the deepest desires, cherished aspirations, inner counsels, and profoundest convictions that originate from within Job's very being (the "heart" as the seat of intellect, will, and emotion).
- are broken off: (Hebrew: נִתְּקוּ, nittəqū). The repetition emphasizes the complete and utter annihilation of not just his external plans, but also his internal motivations and dreams. It reinforces the sense of finality and utter hopelessness.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "My days are past": This phrase establishes the immediate crisis – Job perceives his life as having reached its conclusion prematurely due to his intense suffering. He sees no more time remaining.
- "my plans are broken off": This metaphor highlights the destruction of his future. His active purposes, ambitions, and even the simple hope of continuity, once envisioned as flourishing branches, are now violently severed, never to bear fruit.
- "the thoughts of my heart are broken off": This deeper level of despair reveals the devastation not just of external actions but of internal, cherished desires and foundational beliefs. Even the core of his being, his inner hopes and convictions, have been violently disrupted and eradicated, leaving a void. The parallelism between "plans" and "thoughts of my heart" indicates that his outer aspirations and inner life are equally devastated.
Job 17 11 Bonus section
This verse functions as a key turning point in Job’s laments, moving from general complaints to an utter resignation regarding his earthly existence. The choice of "branches" (זְמֹרוֹתַי) as a metaphor for plans or hopes is culturally resonant in an agricultural society, immediately evoking imagery of lost harvests and aborted growth. This signifies not just cessation but also loss of fruitfulness and legacy. The dual assertion that "days are past" and plans are "broken off" reinforces Job’s profound sense of powerlessness and his conviction that death is the only remaining prospect, starkly setting the stage for his focus on Sheol in subsequent verses. The repetitive use of "broken off" acts as a rhetorical device to emphasize the complete and irreversible destruction Job perceives, rather than mere interruption.
Job 17 11 Commentary
Job 17:11 profoundly articulates the complete ruin experienced by a person overwhelmed by unrelenting suffering. Job, viewing his life as prematurely concluded, laments the total demolition of his future. The metaphor of "branches" being "broken off" powerfully illustrates the sudden, irreversible end of his once-promising prospects and purposes, like a flourishing plant abruptly severed. His lament extends beyond outward circumstances to the core of his being: even his most intimate and cherished "thoughts of his heart" – his deepest desires, plans, and convictions – have suffered the same fate. This verse encapsulates the existential despair when one's perception of meaning, hope, and any personal future is utterly obliterated, a state often brought about by chronic, unexplained adversity. It showcases the psychological toll when the very essence of a person's life, from their lifespan to their internal aspirations, feels tragically terminated by circumstances beyond their control.