Job14

Job laments the brevity and trouble of human life, comparing man to a fading flower or shadow. He questions why God scrutinizes such a frail being, emphasizing that man, unlike a cut tree, does not rise again after death. Job expresses a longing for the grave as a temporary hiding place, holding a faint hope for a future remembrance or 'change' from God.

The Brevity and Misery of Human Life

1
"A human being, born from a woman, lives a short, trouble-filled life. ​
2
He comes up like a flower and withers away, flees like a shadow, doesn't last. ​
3
You fix your eyes on a creature like this? You drag him to court with you? ​
4
Who can bring what is pure from something impure? No one! ​
5
Since his days are fixed in advance, the number of his months is known to you, and you have fixed the limits which he can't cross; ​
6
look away from him, and let him be; so that, like a hired worker, he can finish his day in peace. ​

Man's Death Contrasted with Nature's Hope

7
"For a tree, there is hope that if cut down, it will sprout again, that its shoots will continue to grow. ​
8
Even if its roots grow old in the earth and its stump dies in the ground,
9
yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches like a young plant.
10
But when a human being grows weak and dies, he expires; and then where is he? ​
11
Just as water in a lake disappears, as a river shrinks and dries up;
12
so a person lies down and doesn't arise until the sky no longer exists; it will not awaken, it won't be roused from its sleep. ​

A Plea for Temporary Refuge and Future Hope

13
"I wish you would hide me in Sh'ol, conceal me until your anger has passed, then fix a time and remember me! ​
14
If a man dies, will he live again? I will wait all the days of my life for my change to come. ​
15
You will call, and I will answer you; you will long to see what you made again. ​
16
Whereas now you count each step of mine, then you will not keep watch for my sin. ​
17
You will seal up my crime in a bag and cover over my iniquity. ​

God's Relentless Destruction of Man's Hope

18
"Just as a mountain erodes and falls away, its rock is removed from its place, ​
19
the water wears away its stones, and the floods wash away its soil, so you destroy a person's hope. ​
20
You overpower him, and he passes on; you change his appearance and send him away.
21
His children earn honor, but he doesn't know it; or they are brought low, but he doesn't notice. ​
22
He feels pain only for his own flesh; he laments only for himself." ​

Study Notes for Job 14

Verse 1

Job opens this chapter with a classic statement on the human condition, emphasizing mortality, short duration, and unavoidable suffering. This sets the stage for his lament to God.

Verse 2

The imagery of the 'flower' and the 'shadow' are common biblical metaphors illustrating the fleeting and insubstantial nature of human life.

Verse 3

Job questions why God expends such intense judicial scrutiny upon a creature so weak and transient. He argues that man is hardly worth the effort of divine judgment.

Verse 4

This rhetorical question reflects the ancient understanding of inherited impurity. Since man is born inherently flawed ('unclean'), he cannot produce perfect righteousness ('clean thing'), making divine judgment impossible to satisfy.

Verse 5

Job acknowledges God’s absolute sovereignty over the span of human life. Our existence is divinely limited, confirming that Job is not asking for an extension of life, but relief from suffering.

Verse 6

Job asks for a temporary reprieve from God’s scrutiny and affliction, comparing his life to that of a hired laborer who is due rest once his appointed shift is finished.

Verse 7

This verse introduces a poignant comparison. A tree, even when cut down, possesses the vital force to regenerate, symbolizing hope and renewal absent in human experience.

Verse 10

In sharp contrast to the tree, man's death is presented as final and irreversible in the present age. Job laments the complete disappearance of the human spirit.

Verse 12

Job defines death as a permanent sleep that lasts 'till the heavens be no more.' This indicates that while he grasps the concept of a cosmic end, he sees no possibility of resurrection prior to that ultimate end.

Verse 13

Job desperately wishes for Sheol (the grave) to be a temporary shelter, a hiding place where he could escape God’s current wrath until a set time of remembrance and restoration.

Verse 14

This pivotal question marks a shift from total despair (V. 12) to a fragile hope. Job resolves to wait for his appointed time, suggesting a yearning for 'change' (renewal or resurrection) to come.

Verse 15

Job expresses a profound theological expectation: God, having created man, will eventually desire to renew fellowship with 'the work of thine hands,' fulfilling the hope of V. 14.

Verse 16

Returning to his present reality, Job laments that God currently acts as a meticulous prosecutor, tracking his every move and fault rather than offering compassion.

Verse 17

The imagery of sealing transgression in a bag suggests that God is meticulously recording and storing Job's sins, like sealing evidence for a future, unavoidable judgment.

Verse 18

Job shifts back to describing the overwhelming, destructive power of God, comparing it to geological forces that crumble mountains and remove rocks.

Verse 19

God’s power is likened to water eroding stone—a slow, relentless force that utterly destroys human life and, consequently, 'the hope of man.'

Verse 21

This verse underscores the complete separation death brings. The dead are cut off from the knowledge of their descendants' fortunes, highlighting the finality of their earthly existence.

Verse 22

The chapter concludes with a desolate summary: the only active perception remaining for the dying or the dead is pain and mourning, emphasizing the utter misery of Job’s current state and his view of Sheol.

Use ← → arrow keys to navigate
Settings

Reading Style

Typeface

Font Size 19px

Reading Width 45 chars

Options