Job 14
Expanded Bible
14 “·All of us [L Human beings; T Man] born ·to women [T of woman]
·live only a few [L are short of] days and ·have lots [full] of trouble.
2 ·We [L They] grow up like flowers and then ·dry up and die [L wither].
·We are like a passing [L …and flee like a] shadow that does not last.
3 Lord, do you need to watch me like this?
Must you bring me before you to be judged?
4 No one can bring something clean [C in a ritual sense] from something unclean.
5 ·Our [L If their] time is limited.
You have given ·us [L them] only so many months to live
and have set limits ·we [L they] cannot go beyond.
6 So look away from us and ·leave us alone [stop; desist]
until we put in our time like a laborer [C until death].
7 “If a tree is cut down,
there is hope that it will grow again
and will send out new ·branches [shoots].
8 Even if its roots grow old in the ground,
and its stump dies in the ·dirt [dust],
9 at the ·smell [scent] of water it will bud
and put out new ·shoots [boughs] like a plant.
10 But ·we [L mortals] die, and ·our bodies are laid in the ground [L dwindle away];
·we take our last breath [L humans expire] and are ·gone [L no more; C unlike trees, humans do not come back to life].
11 Water disappears from a ·lake [sea],
and a river ·loses its water and dries up [L dries up and withers away].
12 In the same way, ·we [L humans] lie down and do not rise again;
·we [L they] will not get up or be awakened
until the heavens disappear [C that is, never].
13 “I wish you would hide me in ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld];
·hide [conceal] me until your anger is gone.
I wish you would set a ·time [limit]
and then remember me!
14 Will the dead live again [C the implied answer is no]?
All my days are ·a struggle [L hard service];
I will wait until my ·change [L release] comes.
15 You ·will call [L would summon me], and I ·will [or would] answer you;
you ·will [or would] desire the ·creature your hands have made [L work of your hands].
16 ·Then [or Now] you ·will count [count] my steps [C meaning God would focus negatively on Job’s sin],
but you ·will [or would] not keep track of my sin [C in a hypothetical future].
17 My wrongs ·will [or would] be closed up in a bag,
and you ·will [or would] cover up my sin.
18 “A mountain ·washes [L falls] away and crumbles;
and a rock can be moved from its place.
19 Water ·washes over stones and wears them down [L grinds down the stones],
and ·rushing waters [or violent storms] wash away the ·dirt [dust].
In the same way, you destroy hope.
20 You ·defeat [overpower] people forever, and they are gone;
you change their appearance [C from joy to despair] and send them away.
21 Their children are honored, but they do not know it [C because they, the parents, are dead or dying];
their children are ·disgraced [lowered], but they [C the parents] do not see it.
22 They [C the parents] only feel the pain of their ·body [L flesh]
and ·feel sorry [mourn] for themselves.”
Job 14
Amplified Bible
Job Speaks of the Finality of Death
14 “Man, who is born of a woman,
Is short-lived and full of turmoil.
2
“Like a flower he comes forth and withers;
He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.
3
“You also open Your eyes upon him
And bring him into judgment with Yourself.
4
“Who can make a clean thing out of the unclean?
No one!(A)
5
“Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You [in Your control],
And You have made his limits so he cannot pass [his allotted time].
6
“[O God] turn your gaze from him so that he may rest,
Until he fulfills his day [on earth] like a hired man.
7
“For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that the shoots of it will not cease nor fail, [but there is no such hope for man].
8
“Though its roots grow old in the earth
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
9
Yet at the scent of water [the stump of the tree] will flourish
And bring forth sprigs and shoots like a seedling.
10
“But [the brave, strong] man must die and lie face down;
Man breathes his last, and where is he?
11
“As water evaporates from the sea,
And a river drains and dries up,
12
So man lies down and does not rise [again].
Until the heavens are no longer,
The dead will not awake nor be raised from their sleep.
13
“Oh, that You would hide me in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would set a definite time and then remember me [and in Your lovingkindness imprint me on your heart]!
14
“If a man dies, will he live again?
I will wait all the days of my struggle
Until my change and release will come.(B)
15
“[Then] You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for [me] the work of Your hands.
16
“But now You number [each of] my steps;
You do not observe nor take note of my sin.
17
“My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You cover my wickedness [from Your view].
18
“But as a mountain, if it falls, crumbles into nothing,
And as the rock is moved from its place,
19
Water wears away the stones,
Its floods and torrents wash away the soil of the earth,
So You [O Lord] destroy the hope of man.
20
“You prevail forever against him and overpower him, and he passes on;
You change his appearance and send him away [from the presence of the living].
21
“His sons achieve honor, and he does not know it;
They become insignificant, and he is not aware of it.
22
“But his body [lamenting its decay] grieves in pain over it,
And his soul mourns over [the loss of] himself.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
