Job 14

Job Speaks of the Finality of Death

¹“Man, who is born of woman,

Is short-lived and full of turmoil.

²“Like a flower he comes out and withers.

He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.

³“You also open Your eyes on him

And bring him into judgment with Yourself.

⁴“Who can make the clean out of the unclean?

No one!

⁵“Since his days are determined,

The number of his months is with You;

And You have set his limits so that he cannot pass.

⁶“Look away from him so that he may rest,[#14:6 Lit cease]

Until he fulfills his day like a hired worker.

⁷¶“For there is hope for a tree,

When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,

And its shoots will not fail.

⁸“Though its roots grow old in the ground,

And its stump dies in the dry soil,

⁹At the scent of water it will flourish

And produce sprigs like a plant.

¹⁰“But a man dies and lies prostrate.

A person passes away, and where is he?

¹¹“As water evaporates from the sea,[#14:11 Lit disappears]

And a river becomes parched and dried up,

¹²So a man lies down and does not rise.

Until the heavens no longer exist,

He will not awake nor be woken from his sleep.

¹³¶“Oh that You would hide me in Sheol,[#14:13 I.e., the netherworld]

That You would conceal me 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 the work of Your hands.

¹⁶“For now You number my steps,

You do not observe my sin.

¹⁷“My wrongdoing is sealed up in a bag,

And You cover over my guilt.

¹⁸¶“But the falling mountain crumbles away,[#14:18 Lit withers]

And the rock moves from its place;

¹⁹Water wears away stones,

Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;

So You destroy a man’s hope.

²⁰“You forever overpower him and he departs;

You change his appearance and send him away.

²¹“His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it;

Or they become insignificant, and he does not perceive it.

²²“However, his body pains him,[#14:22 Lit flesh]

And his soul mourns for himself.”