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Job 14

1

Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

2

He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

3

And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?

1
4

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

5

Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;

6

Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.

7

For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

8

Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;

9

Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.

1
10

But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?

11

As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:

12

So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

13

O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!

14

If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

15

Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

16

For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?

17

My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.

18

And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place.

19

The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.

20

Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.

21

His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.

22

But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.

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Job 14

Job reflects on the brevity and hardship of human life, comparing mortals to flowers that wither and suggesting that death brings an end to human struggle and suffering, possibly offering rest. He contemplates whether there might be hope for humans after death, whether God might desire relationship with mortals even after their death, but acknowledges that this is unlikely given what he observes of divine indifference to human suffering. He expresses that God seems determined to grind mortals down, that human hope fades as surely as water wears away stone, and that death appears to be the end of all relationship with God. The chapter takes on a philosophical tone, moving beyond the immediate crisis of Job's suffering to broader questions about human mortality and the possibility of divine restoration or redemption beyond death. Job's contemplation of death as a potential resting place reveals the depth of his despair—that non-existence seems preferable to continued suffering, yet he recognizes that death may also mean the end of all hope for vindication or restoration. This chapter introduces themes that will echo throughout the wisdom literature and eventually throughout Christian theology: the inadequacy of present life to satisfy the human longing for justice and meaning, and the intimation that justice may require something beyond the natural lifespan.

Job 14:16

"For then you would number my steps instead of watching over my sin." Job imagines God's attention shifting from monitoring his transgressions to valuing his movements and life. The verse implies that God's current intense focus on Job's guilt would cease, replaced by simple care for the creature. The alternative to judgment is not indifference but affectionate attention.

Job 14:17

"My transgression would be sealed up in a sack, and you would cover my iniquity." In this imagined restoration, God actively hides Job's sins—they are sealed and covered, not maintained as a permanent record. The verse suggests that divine forgetting of transgression is possible, that God might choose to not invoke the record of guilt. Yet this remains conditional on resurrection, which Job has already established is impossible.

Job 14:18

"But the mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock is removed from its place." Job returns to the meditation on transience, this time invoking mountains and rocks—symbols of permanence—to insist that even these impermanent forms eventually crumble. The verse emphasizes that nothing endures; transience is universal. This observation undercuts the whole conversation: if even mountains fail, what hope has mortal man?

Job 14:19

"The waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the soil of the earth; so you destroy the hope of man." The waters that Job invoked for the tree's restoration here appear as destructive force, eroding stone and soil. God is associated with this erosive power—God destroys human hope in the same way that water destroys landscape. The verse collapses the distinction between natural process and divine wrath; God operates through natural law to accomplish destruction.

Job 14:20

"You prevail forever against a man, and he passes; you change his countenance, and send him away." God's victory over humanity is total and permanent. Human defeat is not temporary setback but existential condition. The "changing of countenance" suggests that God marks the human, transforms his very appearance into that of the defeated. The "sending away" implies permanent exile.

Job 14:21

"His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he perceives it not." The dead human is not even aware of his descendants' fates. This verse emphasizes the utter unconsciousness of death—the human is severed not only from life but from knowledge of what happens to those he loves. The verse makes death not merely death but deprivation of relationship and awareness.

Job 14:22

"But his flesh upon him has pain, and his soul within him mourns." The final verse offers one of the poem's most troubling images: even in death, the person suffers and grieves. The separation of flesh and soul suggests that some aspect of consciousness persists to experience pain and sorrow. Rather than peace, the dead human experiences eternal anguish. Chapter 14 ends with a lament that transforms the hope of chapter 13 into the despair of permanent suffering, even beyond death.

Job 14:1

"Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble." Job shifts from direct address to God to a meditation on the human condition. This verse articulates one of the poem's deepest truths: life itself is brief and turbulent. Job moves beyond personal complaint to universal observation—his suffering becomes exemplary of the human predicament. The opening establishes that suffering is not aberrant but intrinsic to human existence.

Job 14:2

"He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not." The images of flower and shadow emphasize human ephemerality and insubstantiality. Blooming and wilting, appearing and vanishing—these are the poles of human existence. Job's point is that human life is so transient and fragile that the intensity of suffering seems disproportionate to the brevity of existence.

Job 14:3

"And do you open your eyes on such a one and bring me into judgment with you?" Job asks why God bothers to judge such insignificant creatures. The verse resumes direct address to God with a tone of bewilderment. If humans are so brief and insignificant, why should they be held to cosmic standards of justice? The question implies that divine judgment of humans is ontologically inappropriate—like judging the flower for its brevity.

Job 14:4

"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one." Job articulates human universal sinfulness—no one is pure, none can be clean. This verse seems to concede the friends' point: humans are inherently flawed and therefore deserve suffering. Yet in context, it serves a different purpose: if all humans are unclean, then God's condemnation of Job specifically remains inexplicable; why punish this one unclean person so severely?

Job 14:5

"Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his bounds that he cannot pass." God controls the span of human life—days numbered, months apportioned, boundaries fixed. This verse affirms divine sovereignty while emphasizing human constraint. Job cannot extend his brief life; he is locked within divinely appointed limits. The verse establishes that Job's suffering is not chosen but bounded by divine decree.

Job 14:6

"Look away from him and desist, that he may enjoy, like a laborer, his day." Job's plea is for God to grant humans some peace during their brief existence. The image of the laborer who finishes his day's work and rests suggests that humans deserve respite proportional to their effort. Job's request is modest: not immortality, not full justice, but simple rest before death.

Job 14:7

"For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease." Job turns to nature, observing that trees can regenerate after cutting. This comparison will set up the contrast with human death—nature permits renewal; humanity does not. The verse acknowledges that some creation enjoys restoration, which makes the absence of such restoration for humans more tragic.

Job 14:8

"Though its roots grow old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground." The tree, despite age and apparent death, retains the capacity for renewal. The roots endure; new shoots emerge from the stump. Job is emphasizing the persistence of life-force in nature even when its manifestation seems dead. The implication is that nature operates by principles of renewal that human existence, bound to linear time and death, cannot access.

Job 14:9

"Yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches like a plant." The tree's resurrection is virtually automatic, triggered by elemental conditions (water). The image suggests that nature is programmed for renewal in a way that is almost mechanistic. The beauty and poignancy lies in the contrast: nature's renewal is guaranteed; human renewal is forbidden.

Job 14:10

"But man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he?" The blunt contrast: unlike the tree, human death is final. No scent of water will resurrect the human. The verse confronts the irreversibility of human death with stark simplicity. Where is the dead human? Nowhere—not in restoration, not in renewal, not in any continued form.

Job 14:11

"As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up." The image shifts to water—lakes evaporate, rivers dry. The comparison suggests that human life follows the pattern of water: it appears, flows, and then disappears. The verse extends the meditation on transience by comparing human death to the natural cycles of water. Both are part of the order of nature, yet this universal pattern does not make it less tragic.

Job 14:12

"So man lies down and does not rise again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake, nor be roused out of his sleep." The finality is absolute. Man does not rise until the heavens themselves pass away—an eschatological impossibility. The image of sleep suggests that human death is unlike rest; it is permanent unconsciousness from which no waking is possible. The verse denies any hope of afterlife renewal.

Job 14:13

"Oh, that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time and remember me!" Job's desperate prayer moves from lament to petition. He asks God to hide him in Sheol (the grave) until divine wrath cools. The wish is for temporary concealment, the possibility of emerging once God's anger has passed. This verse acknowledges that Job would accept even a grave-dwelling if it meant eventual restoration.

Job 14:14

"If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait till my renewal comes." Job poses the central theological question of the passage. He acknowledges that his question assumes the impossible—human resurrection—yet declares that he would wait forever for such renewal. The verse reveals Job's deepest hope: not that his earthly suffering be lifted, but that death itself might be reversed.

Job 14:15

"You would call, and I would answer you; you would long for the work of your hands." If resurrection were possible, Job imagines divine-human reunion in which God calls and Job responds, God longing for his creature. The verse transforms the earlier image of God as hostile pursuer into one of God as loving creator missing his creation. It posits a form of relationship in which death itself might be overcome.