Job 14
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
14 Man who is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.
2 He comes forth like a flower and withers; he flees also like a shadow and continues not.
3 And [Lord] do You open Your eyes upon such a one, and bring me into judgment with You?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!(A)
5 Since a man’s days are already determined, and the number of his months is wholly in Your control, and he cannot pass the bounds of his allotted time—
6 [O God] turn from him [and cease to watch him so pitilessly]; let him rest until he has accomplished as does a hireling the appointed time for his day.
7 For there is hope for a tree if it is cut down, that it will sprout again and that the tender shoots of it will not cease. [But there is no such hope for man.]
8 Though its roots grow old in the earth and its stock dies in the ground,
9 Yet through the scent [and breathing] of water [the stump of the tree] will bud and bring forth boughs like a young plant.
10 But [the brave, strong] man must die and lie prostrate; yes, man breathes his last, and where is he?
11 As waters evaporate from the lake, and the river drains and dries up,
12 So man lies down and does not rise [to his former state]. Till the heavens are no more, men will not awake nor be raised [physically] out of their sleep.
13 Oh, that You would hide me in Sheol (the unseen state), that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, that You would set a definite time and then remember me earnestly [and imprint me on your heart]!
14 If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my warfare and service I will wait, till my change and release shall come.(B)
15 [Then] You would call and I would answer You; You would yearn for [me] the work of Your hands.
16 But now You number each of my steps and take note of my every sin.
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You glue up my iniquity [to preserve it in full for the day of reckoning].
18 But as a mountain, if it falls, crumbles to nothing, and as the rock is removed out of its place,
19 As waters wear away the stones and as floods wash away the soil of the earth, so You [O Lord] destroy the hope of man.
20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his appearance [in death] and send him away [from the presence of the living].
21 His sons come to honor, and he knows it not; they are brought low, and he perceives it not.
22 But his body [lamenting its decay in the grave] shall grieve over him, and his soul shall mourn [over the body of clay which it once enlivened].
Job 14
The Voice
14 Job: Humankind, born of woman,
has a few brief years with much suffering.
2 Like a short-lived bloom,
he springs up only to wither;
like the brief shade gained by a fast-moving cloud,
he passes swiftly.
3 Lord, is this why You turn Your gaze on such a creature:
to bring me,[a] a mere human being, alongside You for judgment?
4 Who can take what is impure and defiled
to fashion something pure and pristine?
No one! We are, after all, so different in nature.
5 Since a person’s life is fixed,
and You are the One who determines the number of his months,
And You set a limit on the length of her life,
and since they are incapable of exceeding Your decree,
6 The least You can do is turn Your gaze away from him until they pass,
so that he can enjoy his day like a hired worker.
7 You know, at least there is a kind of hope for a tree:
if it gets cut down, it may yet sprout again out of the roots.
And very likely then, its tender shoots will not die.
8 Its roots may age deep under the ground,
and the stump appear dead in the dry earth,
9 But even then it needs only the merest whiff of water
to bud again and put forth shoots like a newly planted sapling.
10 But not so with humankind.
The noblest of human beings dies and lies flat.
Humans die, and where do they go?
11 Just as water evaporates from the sea,
And riverbeds go parched and dry,
12 so humankind lies down and does not rise again.
Until the day when the skies are done away with,
humankind will neither awaken nor rouse from slumber.
13 O that You would merely hide me in the land of the dead
and keep me in secret till Your wrath is gone,
until a time You decide when You might think upon me.
14 If one dies, can he live again?
Through these days of toil and struggle,
I will patiently wait until my situation changes.
15 You will call out, and I will answer You then;
and You will long for me,
the work of Your hands, again.
16 For then You would still count each of my steps
but not focus on my faults.
17 My sins would be sealed up as in a bag,
and my crimes You would carefully cover up.
18 And yet while every crack in me is closely watched,
the mountain will slide and erode as the avalanche steals its cliffs away.
19 The water grinds at the surface of stones,
and the floodwater[b] steals the soil away.
This is how You wreck the hope of humankind.
20 You continually overwhelm him, and he dies;
You alter his appearance and send him away.
21 If his children rise to honor, he does not know of it;
if they sink to humiliation, he is unaware of it.
22 He knows only this:
His body feels agony and his soul grieves.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.