Job 14
Modern English Version
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 like a shadow and does not continue.
3 Do You open Your eyes on such a one,
and bring me into judgment with You?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
There is no one.
5 Seeing his days are determined,
the number of his months are with You;
You have appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
6 turn from him, that he may rest,
until he, as a hired man, finishes his day.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
if it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its tender shoots will not cease.
8 Though its root may grow old in the earth,
and its stump may die in the ground,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud
and bring forth boughs like a plant.
10 But man dies and wastes away;
yes, man gives up his breath, and where is he?
11 As the waters disappear from the sea,
and the flood shrivels and dries up,
12 so man lies down and does not rise;
until the heavens are no more, he will not awake,
nor be raised out of his sleep.
13 “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,
that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
that You would appoint me a set time
and remember me!
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my service I will wait,
until my relief comes.
15 You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for the work of Your hands.
16 For now You number my steps;
do You not observe my sin?
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
and You plaster over my iniquity.
18 “Surely the mountain falling comes to nothing,
and the rock is removed out of its place.
19 The waters wear away the stones;
its overflow washes away the dust of the earth;
and You destroy the hope of man.
20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;
changing his countenance, You send him away.
21 His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;
and they are brought low, but he does not perceive it.
22 But his flesh on him will have pain,
and his soul within him will mourn.”
Job 14
EasyEnglish Bible
Job continues to speak
14 Everyone that a woman gives birth to lives only for a short time.
The days of his life are full of trouble.
2 He is like a flower that grows
and then it soon dies.
His life quickly disappears like a shadow.
3 I am only a human like that,
so why do you watch me so carefully?
Why do you want to bring me into a court to judge me?
4 People are not clean and pure.
Nobody can change them to become pure.
5 You have decided how long people should live.
You control the number of months that each person will live.
Nobody can live any longer than that.
6 So do not watch us! Leave us alone!
We must work for the time that you have decided.
Please leave us to work in peace.
7 If someone cuts down a tree,
the tree may not die.
New branches may grow from it.
8 Its roots in the ground may be old.
The part of the tree that remains may be nearly dead.
9 But if only a little water comes near to it,
it will start to grow again.
It will make new branches,
like a young plant.
10 But when people lose their strength and they die,
that is the end.
After they die, where do they go?
11 When the water disappears from a lake or a river,
they become dry.
12 It is the same with people when they die.
They will never rise to live again.
As long as the sky remains above the earth,
they will continue to sleep in death.
13 Please hide me in the place where dead people go!
Hide me there until you are no longer angry.
Decide how long I must be there,
and then remember me again!
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
If I knew that, I would suffer patiently.
I would wait until my troubles have finished.
15 You would call me and I would answer you.
You would want to see me again,
because your own hands created me.
16 You would watch me carefully,
but you would not make a note of my sins.
17 You would forgive me for my sins.
You would hide them away.
18 But mountains fall down and they break into pieces,
Rocks fall down from their places.
19 Stones become sand when water pours over them.
Floods wash away soil.
In the same way, you remove hope from a person's life.
20 Finally, you bring his life to an end.
He leaves this world.
You change his face in death
and you send him away.
21 If his sons become famous,
he does not know about it.
If they become ashamed,
he does not know that either.
22 A dead person thinks only about himself.
He feels his own pain and he is very sad.’
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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