Job 17:15
in Job 17where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Where then is my hope? And as for my hope, who shall see it?
KJV
And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?
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This verse in Job 17
Commentary
9 notes on this verseVer. 15. Where then is now my expectation? What could be the 'expectation' of the righteous, but God who justifieth the righteous, Who should freely go down to (what was) the punishment of mankind, and by the efficacy of His righteousness set free the captives of death? For they never ceased to expect His appearing with intent expectation; they knew that it was to come, but they sought for it to come quickly. Wherefore he does not say, 'Where, then, is my expectation?' but, where then is now my expectation?
This site's exposition
where then is my hope
on Job 17:15-16
The closing question, "where then is my hope", gathers the pledge of verse 3 and the confidence of verse 9 into one final doubt. The last verse asks whether hope will "go down to the gates of Sheol". Wesley notes the gates as a figure for the grave's finality.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
From these things he concludes as though deducing an unfitting conclusion saying, "Where then now is my hope?" as if to say: If I were to find my consolation because of the expectation of temporal prosperity, my hope would be vain. Again he concludes to …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
I am a dying man, and cannot enjoy the good you promise. Since, therefore, our rest will be together in the dust, let us all lay aside the thoughts of this world and set our hearts upon another." We must shortly be in the dust, for dust we are, dust and ashes in the pit, under the bars of the pit, held fast there, never to loose the bands of death till the general resurrection.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And where is now my hope?....
9 The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. Job's discourse is here somewhat broken and interrupted, and he passes suddenly from one thing to another, as is usual with men in trouble; but we may reduce what is here said to three heads:-- I.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Who shall see it fulfilled? namely, the "hope" (Job 11:18) which they held out to him of restoration.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
And where is now my hope? - In the circumstances in which I am found, of what use can hope be? Were I to form the expectation of future good, who could ever see it realized? Is it then any wonder that I should complain and bemoan my wretched lot?
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And where is now my hope? - What hope have I of life? What possibility is there of my escape from death? Who shall see it? - That is, who will see any hopes that I may now cherish fulfilled. If I cherish any, they will be disappointed, and no one will see them accomplished.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
To the pit I have called, ‘You are my father,’ to lodge there many days as though it was my father, since this is my hope.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְ֭אַיֵּה | veaiyeh | and where? | H346 → | 45 times |
| אֵפ֣וֹ | ʾefo | then | H645 → | 15 times |
| תִקְוָתִ֑י | tikvati | [is] hope my | H8615 → | 34 times |
| וְ֝תִקְוָתִ֗י | vetikvati | and hope my | H8615 → | 34 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יְשׁוּרֶֽנָּה׃ | yeshurenah | will he observe it | H7789 → | 15 times |
וְ֭אַיֵּהand where?
veaiyehH346 →45 times
אֵפ֣וֹthen
ʾefoH645 →15 times
תִקְוָתִ֑י[is] hope my
tikvatiH8615 →34 times
וְ֝תִקְוָתִ֗יand hope my
vetikvatiH8615 →34 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
יְשׁוּרֶֽנָּה׃will he observe it
yeshurenahH7789 →15 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Job 13:15Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.
it leads to
- Psalms 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
- Job 23:10
Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
- Job 19:25–28
But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.
- Romans 8:38–39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
- 1 John 3:20
Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things.
- Psalms 23:4
Through
Job 4:6Is your reverence not your confidence, and the uprightness of your ways your hope?
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:26
for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from the snare.
- Proverbs 14:26
He who fears the LORD is secure in confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge.
- Job 1:1
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil.
- Proverbs 3:26
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XIII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.