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28 I waste away like rotting wood,
    like a moth-eaten coat.

14 “How frail is humanity!
    How short is life, how full of trouble!
We blossom like a flower and then wither.
    Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.
Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature
    and demand an accounting from me?
Who can bring purity out of an impure person?
    No one!
You have decided the length of our lives.
    You know how many months we will live,
    and we are not given a minute longer.
So leave us alone and let us rest!
    We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.

28 So I’m a man who wears out like something rotten,
    like a garment that has become moth-eaten.”

Human Beings Live and Die

14 Human beings born by women
    are short-lived[a] and full of trouble.
He springs up[b] like a flower and then withers.[c]
    Like a shadow, he disappears[d] and doesn’t last.
Indeed, have you opened your eyes on one like this—
    to bring me into a legal fight with you?
Who can produce a clean thing from an unclean thing?
    No one!
Since his days have been determined,
    the number of his months is known to you.
You’ve set his limit
    and he cannot exceed it.
Look away from him and leave him alone,
    so he can enjoy his time, like a hired worker.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 14:1 Lit. is of short days
  2. Job 14:2 Lit. goes out
  3. Job 14:2 Lit. is cut off
  4. Job 14:2 Lit. flees