Job 14
New American Standard Bible 1995
Job Speaks of the Finality of Death
14 “(A)Man, who is born of woman,
Is [a]short-lived and (B)full of turmoil.
2 “(C)Like a flower he comes forth and withers.
He also flees like (D)a shadow and does not remain.
3 “You also (E)open Your eyes on him
And (F)bring [b]him into judgment with Yourself.
4 “(G)Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!
5 “Since his days are determined,
The (H)number of his months is with You;
And his limits You have [c]set so that he cannot pass.
6 “(I)Turn Your gaze from him that he may [d]rest,
Until he [e]fulfills his day like a hired man.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not [f]fail.
8 “Though its roots grow old in the ground
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
9 At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant.
10 “But (J)man dies and lies prostrate.
Man (K)expires, and where is he?
11 “As (L)water [g]evaporates from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dried up,
12 So (M)man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens are no longer,
[h]He will not awake nor be aroused out of [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 change 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 transgression is (R)sealed up in a bag,
And You [k]wrap up my iniquity.
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 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, but he does not perceive it.
22 “But his [m]body pains him,
And he mourns only for himself.”
Footnotes
- Job 14:1 Lit short of days
- Job 14:3 So with some ancient versions; M.T. me
- Job 14:5 Lit made
- Job 14:6 Lit cease
- Job 14:6 Lit makes acceptable
- Job 14:7 Or cease
- Job 14:11 Lit disappears
- Job 14:12 Lit They
- Job 14:12 Lit their
- Job 14:13 I.e. the nether world
- Job 14:17 Lit plaster; or glue together
- Job 14:18 Lit withers
- Job 14:22 Lit flesh
Job 14
New King James Version
Job Speaks of Life’s Woes
14 “Man who is born of woman
Is of few days and (A)full of [a]trouble.
2 (B)He comes forth like a flower and fades away;
He flees like a shadow and does not continue.
3 And (C)do You open Your eyes on such a one,
And (D)bring [b]me to judgment with Yourself?
4 Who (E)can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
No one!
5 (F)Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.
6 (G)Look away from him that he may [c]rest,
Till (H)like a hired man he 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 branches like a plant.
10 But man dies and [d]is laid away;
Indeed he [e]breathes his last
And where is (I)he?
11 As water disappears from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dries up,
12 So man lies down and does not rise.
(J)Till the heavens are no more,
They will not awake
Nor be roused from their 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, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service (K)I will wait,
Till my change comes.
15 (L)You shall call, and I will answer You;
You shall desire the work of Your hands.
16 For now (M)You number my steps,
But do not watch over my sin.
17 (N)My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You [f]cover my iniquity.
18 “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,
And as a rock is moved from its place;
19 As water wears away stones,
And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
So You destroy the hope of man.
20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;
You change his countenance and send him away.
21 His sons come to honor, and (O)he does not know it;
They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.
22 But his flesh will be in pain over it,
And his soul will mourn over it.”
Job 14
English Standard Version
Job Continues: Death Comes Soon to All
14 “Man who is (A)born of a woman
is (B)few of days and (C)full of trouble.
2 He comes out like (D)a flower and (E)withers;
he flees like (F)a shadow and continues not.
3 And do you (G)open your eyes on such a one
and (H)bring me into judgment with you?
4 Who can bring (I)a clean thing out of an unclean?
There is not one.
5 Since his (J)days are determined,
and (K)the number of his months is with you,
and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,
6 (L)look away from him and leave him alone,[a]
that he may enjoy, like (M)a hired hand, his day.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its shoots will not cease.
8 Though its root grow old in the earth,
and (N)its stump die in the soil,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put out (O)branches like a young plant.
10 But a man dies and is laid low;
man breathes his last, and (P)where is he?
11 (Q)As waters fail from a lake
and a river wastes away and dries up,
12 so a man lies down and rises not again;
till (R)the heavens are no more he will not awake
or be (S)roused out of his sleep.
13 Oh that you would (T)hide me in (U)Sheol,
that you would (V)conceal me (W)until your wrath be past,
that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my (X)service I would (Y)wait,
till my renewal[b] should come.
15 You would (Z)call, and I would answer you;
you would long for the (AA)work of your hands.
16 For then you would (AB)number my steps;
you would not keep (AC)watch over my sin;
17 my transgression would be (AD)sealed up in a bag,
and you would cover over my iniquity.
18 “But the mountain falls and (AE)crumbles away,
and (AF)the rock is removed from its place;
19 the waters wear away the stones;
the torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
so you destroy the hope of man.
20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes;
you change his countenance, and send him away.
21 His sons come to honor, and he (AG)does not know it;
they are brought low, and he perceives it not.
22 He feels only the pain of his own body,
and he mourns only for himself.”
Job 14
International Children’s Bible
14 “All of us born to women
live only a few days and have a lot of trouble.
2 We grow up like flowers and then dry up and go away.
We are like a passing shadow that does not last.
3 Lord, do you need to watch someone like this?
Do you need to bring him before you to be judged?
4 I wish something clean could come from something unclean.
But it never can!
5 Our time is limited.
You have given us only so many months to live.
You have set limits we cannot go beyond.
6 So look away from us and leave us alone.
Leave us alone until we put in our time like a hired man.
7 “There is hope for a tree.
If you cut it down, it will grow again.
It will keep sending out new branches.
8 Its roots may grow old in the ground.
And its stump may die in the dirt.
9 But at the smell of water it will bud.
It will put out new shoots like a plant.
10 But we die, and our bodies are laid in the ground.
We take our last breath and are gone.
11 Water disappears from a lake.
And a river loses its water and dries up.
12 In the same way we lie down and do not rise again.
We will not get up or be awakened
until the heavens disappear.
13 “I wish you would hide me where the dead are.
Hide me until your anger is gone.
I wish you would set a time
and then remember me!
14 Will the dead live again?
I will wait, struggling hard
until things change for me.
15 You will call, and I will answer you.
You will desire the creature your hands have made.
16 Then you will count my steps.
But you will not keep track of my sin.
17 My wrongs will be closed up in a bag.
And you will cover up my sin.
18 “A mountain washes away and crumbles.
And a rock can be moved from its place.
19 Water washes over stones and wears them down.
And rushing waters wash away the dirt.
In the same way, you destroy hope.
20 You defeat man forever, and he is gone.
You change his appearance and send him away.
21 His sons are honored, but he does not know it.
His sons are disgraced, but he does not see it.
22 He only feels the pain of his body.
And he feels sorry only for himself.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.