Job 14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
14 “A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble,(A)
2 comes up like a flower and withers,
flees like a shadow and does not last.(B)
3 Do you fix your eyes on such a one?
Do you bring me into judgment with you?(C)
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
No one can.(D)
5 Since their days are determined,
and the number of their months is known to you,
and you have appointed the bounds that they cannot pass,(E)
6 look away from them and desist,[a]
that they may enjoy, like laborers, their days.(F)
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
if it is cut down, that it will sprout again
and that its shoots will not cease.
8 Though its root grows old in the earth
and its stump dies in the ground,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth branches like a young plant.(G)
10 But mortals die and are laid low;
humans expire, and where are they?(H)
11 As waters fail from a lake
and a river wastes away and dries up,(I)
12 so mortals lie down and do not rise again;
until the heavens are no more, they will not awake
or be roused out of their sleep.(J)
13 O that you would hide me in Sheol,
that you would conceal me until your wrath is past,
that you would appoint me a set time and remember me!(K)
14 If mortals die, will they live again?
All the days of my service I would wait
until my release should come.(L)
15 You would call, and I would answer you;
you would long for the work of your hands.
16 For then you would not[b] number my steps;
you would not keep watch over my sin;(M)
17 my transgression would be sealed up in a bag,
and you would cover over my iniquity.(N)
18 “But the mountain falls and crumbles away,
and the rock is removed from its place;(O)
19 the waters wear away the stones;
the torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
so you destroy the hope of mortals.
20 You prevail forever against them, and they pass away;
you change their countenance and send them away.(P)
21 Their children come to honor, and they do not know it;
they are brought low, and it goes unnoticed.(Q)
22 They feel only the pain of their own bodies
and mourn only for themselves.”
Job 14
Evangelical Heritage Version
14 Man born of woman has a few short days,
and they are full of anxiety.
2 He blossoms like a flower, but soon withers.
He recedes like a shadow and does not remain.
3 You keep your eye on such a man.
You bring me[a] into judgment in your presence.
4 Who can produce something pure from something that is impure?
No one.
5 Certainly his days are determined.
The number of his months has been set by you.
A limit is set, which he cannot exceed.
6 Turn your gaze away from him, and let him be,
until he finishes his day’s work as a hired man.
7 There is still hope for a tree if it is cut down.
It may grow up again and produce new shoots.
8 Though its roots lie dormant in the earth,
and its stump is dying in the dust,
9 with just a whiff of water, it shoots up again.
As a growing plant, it again sends out branches.
10 But if a man dies, he shrivels away.
When a person breathes his last, where is he?
11 Waters evaporate from the sea.
A river dries up and becomes dust.
12 In the same way, a man lies down and does not rise again.
Until the heavens pass away, he does not awaken,
and he is not aroused from his sleep.
13 Oh how I wish you would hide me in the grave,
that you would conceal me until your wrath has passed by,
that you would set an appointed time for me,
and then you would remember me.
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
Through all the days of my warfare,[b]
I will wait, until change comes about for me.
15 You will call, and I myself will answer.
Then you will long for the work of your hands.
16 Now you count my steps,
but then you will no longer keep track of my sin.
17 My rebellious deeds will be sealed up in a bag,
and you will plaster over my guilt.
18 But as a mountain crumbles and falls,
and as a rock is moved from its place,
19 as water wears away stones,
and floodwaters wash away soil from the land,
so you destroy a man’s hope.
20 You overpower him once and for all, and he passes away.
You change his appearance and send him away.
21 His sons are honored, but he is not aware of it.
They are brought low, but he does not realize it.
22 He feels the pain only of his own flesh,
and in his soul grieves only for himself.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.