Job Speaks of the Finality of Death

14 (A)Man, who is born of woman,
Is [a]short-lived and (B)full of turmoil.
(C)Like a flower he comes out and withers.
He also flees like (D)a shadow and does not remain.
You also (E)open Your eyes on him
And (F)bring [b]him into judgment with Yourself.
(G)Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!
Since his days are determined,
The (H)number of his months is with You;
And You have [c]set his limits so that he cannot pass.
(I)Look away from him so that he may [d]rest,
Until he [e]fulfills his day like a hired worker.

“For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not [f]fail.
Though its roots grow old in the ground,
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
At the scent of water it will flourish
And produce sprigs like a plant.
10 But (J)a man dies and lies prostrate.
A person (K)passes away, and where is he?
11 As (L)water [g]evaporates from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dried up,
12 So (M)a man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens no longer exist,
[h]He will not awake nor be woken from [i]his sleep.

13 “Oh that You would hide me in [j]Sheol,
That You would conceal me (N)until Your wrath returns to You,
That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my struggle I will wait
Until my relief comes.
15 You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for (O)the work of Your hands.
16 For now You (P)number my steps,
You do not (Q)observe my sin.
17 My wrongdoing is (R)sealed up in a bag,
And You cover over my [k]guilt.

18 “But the falling mountain [l]crumbles away,
And the rock moves from its place;
19 Water wears away stones,
Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;
So You (S)destroy a man’s hope.
20 You forever overpower him and he (T)departs;
You change his appearance and send him away.
21 His sons achieve honor, but (U)he does not know it;
Or they become insignificant, and he does not perceive it.
22 However, his [m]body pains him,
And his soul mourns for himself.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 14:1 Lit short of days
  2. Job 14:3 As in some ancient versions; MT me
  3. Job 14:5 Lit made
  4. Job 14:6 Lit cease
  5. Job 14:6 Lit makes acceptable
  6. Job 14:7 Or cease
  7. Job 14:11 Lit disappears
  8. Job 14:12 Lit They
  9. Job 14:12 Lit their
  10. Job 14:13 I.e., the netherworld
  11. Job 14:17 Or unjust deed
  12. Job 14:18 Lit withers
  13. Job 14:22 Lit flesh

14 Man born of a woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries.

Who cometh forth like a flower, and is destroyed, and fleeth as a shadow, and never continueth in the same state.

And dost thou think it meet to open thy eyes upon such an one, and to bring him into judgment with thee?

Who can make him clean that is conceived of unclean seed? is it not thou who only art?

The days of man are short, and the number of his months is with thee: thou hast appointed his bounds which cannot be passed.

Depart a little from him, that he may rest, until his wished for day come, as that of the hireling.

A tree hath hope: if it be cut, it groweth green again, and the boughs thereof sprout.

If its root be old in the earth, and its stock be dead in the dust:

At the scent of water, it shall spring, and bring forth leaves, as when it was first planted.

10 But man when he shall be dead, and stripped and consumed, I pray you where is he?

11 As if the waters should depart out of the sea, and an emptied river should be dried up:

12 So man when he is fallen asleep shall not rise again; till the heavens be broken, he shall not awake, nor rise up out of his sleep.

13 Who will grant me this, that thou mayst protect me in hell, and hide me till thy wrath pass, and appoint me a. time when thou wilt remember me?

14 Shall man that is dead, thinkest thou, live again? all the days in which I am now in warfare, I expect until my change come.

15 Thou shalt call me, and I will answer thee: to the work of thy hands thou shalt reach out thy right hand.

16 Thou indeed hast numbered my steps, but spare my sins.

17 Thou hast sealed up my offences as it were in a bag, but hast cured my iniquity.

18 A mountain falling cometh to nought, and a rock is removed out of its place.

19 Waters wear away the stones, and with inundation the ground by little and little is washed away: so in like manner thou shalt destroy man.

20 Thou hast strengthened him for a little while, that he may pass away for ever: thou shalt change his face, and shalt send him away.

21 Whether his children come to honour or dishonour, he shall not understand.

22 But yet his flesh, while he shall live, shall have pain, and his soul shall mourn over him.