Job 14
Authorized (King James) Version
14 Man that is born of a woman is of few days,
and full of trouble.
2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down:
he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one,
and bringest me into judgment with thee?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
5 Seeing his days are determined,
the number of his months are with thee,
thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
6 turn from him, that he may rest,
till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.
7 For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down,
that it will sprout again,
and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
8 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth,
and the stock thereof die in the ground;
9 yet through the scent of water it will bud,
and bring forth boughs like a plant.
10 But man dieth, and wasteth away:
yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
11 As the waters fail from the sea,
and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
12 so man lieth down, and riseth not:
till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake,
nor be raised out of their sleep.
13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave,
that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past,
that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man die, shall he live again?
all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee:
thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
16 For now thou numberest my steps:
dost thou not watch over my sin?
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
and thou sewest up mine iniquity.
18 And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought,
and the rock is removed out of his place.
19 The waters wear the stones:
thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth;
and thou destroyest the hope of man.
20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth:
thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
21 His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not;
and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
22 But his flesh upon him shall have pain,
and his soul within him shall mourn.
Job 14
New Living Translation
14 “How frail is humanity!
How short is life, how full of trouble!
2 We blossom like a flower and then wither.
Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.
3 Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature
and demand an accounting from me?
4 Who can bring purity out of an impure person?
No one!
5 You have decided the length of our lives.
You know how many months we will live,
and we are not given a minute longer.
6 So leave us alone and let us rest!
We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.
7 “Even a tree has more hope!
If it is cut down, it will sprout again
and grow new branches.
8 Though its roots have grown old in the earth
and its stump decays,
9 at the scent of water it will bud
and sprout again like a new seedling.
10 “But when people die, their strength is gone.
They breathe their last, and then where are they?
11 As water evaporates from a lake
and a river disappears in drought,
12 people are laid to rest and do not rise again.
Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up
nor be roused from their sleep.
13 “I wish you would hide me in the grave[a]
and forget me there until your anger has passed.
But mark your calendar to think of me again!
14 Can the dead live again?
If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle,
and I would eagerly await the release of death.
15 You would call and I would answer,
and you would yearn for me, your handiwork.
16 For then you would guard my steps,
instead of watching for my sins.
17 My sins would be sealed in a pouch,
and you would cover my guilt.
18 “But instead, as mountains fall and crumble
and as rocks fall from a cliff,
19 as water wears away the stones
and floods wash away the soil,
so you destroy people’s hope.
20 You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene.
You disfigure them in death and send them away.
21 They never know if their children grow up in honor
or sink to insignificance.
22 They suffer painfully;
their life is full of trouble.”
Footnotes
- 14:13 Hebrew in Sheol.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
