TRV
See on the biblical-era map
Study This Verse
Commentary on Job 14 verses 16–22
Job here returns to his complaints; and, though he is not without hope of future bliss, he finds it very hard to get over his present grievances.
I. He complains of the particular hardships he apprehended himself under from the strictness of God's justice, Job 14:16, Job 14:17. Therefore he longed to go hence to that world where God's wrath will be past, because now he was under the continual tokens of it, as a child, under the severe discipline of the rod, longs to be of age. "When shall my change come? For now thou seemest to me to number my steps, and watch over my sin, and seal it up in a bag, as bills of indictment are kept safely, to be produced against the prisoner." See Deu 32:34. "Thou takest all advantages against me; old scores are called over, every infirmity is animadverted upon, and no sooner is a false step taken than I am beaten for it." Now, 1. Job does right to the divine justice in owning that he smarted for his sins and transgressions, that he had done enough to deserve all that was laid upon him; for there was sin in all his steps, and he was guilty of transgression enough to bring all this ruin upon him, if it were strictly enquired into: he is far from saying that he perishes being innocent. But, 2. He does wrong to the divine goodness in suggesting that God was extreme to mark what he did amiss, and made the worst of every thing. He spoke to this purport, Job 13:27. It was unadvisedly said, and therefore we will not dwell too much upon it. God does indeed see all our sins; he sees sin in his own people; but he is not severe in reckoning with us, nor is the law ever stretched against us, but we are punished less than our iniquities deserve. God does indeed seal and sew up, against the day of wrath, the transgression of the impenitent, but the sins of his people he blots out as a cloud.
II. He complains of the wasting condition of mankind in general. We live in a dying world. Who knows the power of God's anger, by which we are consumed and troubled, and in which all our days are passed away? See Psa 90:7-9, Psa 90:11. And who can bear up against his rebukes? Psa 39:11.
1.We see the decays of the earth itself. (1.) Of the strongest parts of it, Job 14:18. Nothing will last always, for we see even mountains moulder and come to nought; they wither and fall as a leaf; rocks wax old and pass away by the continual beating of the sea against them. The waters wear the stones with constant dropping, non vi, sed saepe cadendo - not by the violence, but by the constancy with which they fall. On this earth every thing is the worse for the wearing. Tempus edax rerum - Time devours all things. It is not so with the heavenly bodies. (2.) Of the natural products of it. The things which grow out of the earth, and seem to be firmly rooted in it, are sometimes by an excess of rain washed away, Job 14:19. Some think he pleads this for relief: "Lord, my patience will not hold out always; even rocks and mountains will fail at last; therefore cease the controversy."
2.No marvel then if we see the decays of man upon the earth, for he is of the earth, earthy. Job begins to think his case is not singular, and therefore he ought to reconcile himself to the common lot. We perceive by many instances, (1.) How vain it is to expect much from the enjoyments of life: "Thou destroyest the hope of man," that is, "puttest an end to all the projects he had framed and all the prospects of satisfaction he had flattered himself with." Death will be the destruction of all those hopes which are built upon worldly confidences and confined to worldly comforts. Hope in Christ, and hope in heaven, death will consummate and not destroy. (2.) How vain it is to struggle against the assaults of death (Job 14:20): Thou prevailest for ever against him. Note, Man is an unequal match for God. Whom God contends with he will certainly prevail against, prevail for ever against so that they shall never be able to make head again. Note further, The stroke of death is irresistible; it is to no purpose to dispute its summons. God prevails against man and he passes away, and lo he is not. Look upon a dying man, and see, [1.] How his looks are altered: Thou changest his countenance, and this in two ways: - First, By the disease of his body. When a man has been a few days sick what a change is there in his countenance! How much more when he has been a few minutes dead! The countenance which was majestic and awful becomes mean and despicable - that was lovely and amiable becomes ghastly and frightful. Bury my dead out of my sight. Where then is the admired beauty? Death changes the countenance, and then sends us away out of this world, gives us one dismission hence, never to return. Secondly, By the discomposure of his mind. Note, The approach of death will make the strongest and stoutest to change countenance; it will make the most merry smiling countenance to look grave and serious, and the most bold daring countenance to look pale and timorous. [2.] How little he is concerned in the affairs of his family, which once lay so near his heart. When he is in the hands of the harbingers of death, suppose struck with a palsy or apoplexy, or delirious in a fever, or in conflict with death, tell him then the most agreeable news, or the most painful, concerning his children, it is all alike, he knows it not, he perceives it not, Job 14:21. He is going to that world where he will be a perfect stranger to all those things which here filled and affected him. The consideration of this should moderate our cares concerning our children and families. God will know what comes of them when we are gone. To him therefore let us commit them, with him let us leave them, and not burden ourselves with needless fruitless cares concerning them. [3.] How dreadful the agonies of death are (Job 14:22): While his flesh is upon him (so it may be read), that is, the body he is so loth to lay down,: it shall have pain; and while his soul is within him, that is, the spirit he is so loth to resign, it shall mourn. Note, Dying work is hard work; dying pangs are, commonly, sore pangs. It is folly therefore for men to defer their repentance to a death-bed, and to have that to do which is the one thing needful when they are really unfit to do any thing: but it is true wisdom by making our peace with God in Christ and keeping a good conscience, to treasure up comforts which will support and relieve us against the pains and sorrows of a dying hour.
22. This is very often the case, that upon rocks falling, a piece of rock is removed to other places; that waters wear stones, and little by little the ground is wasted by the washings of the flood: but we have need to make out with great diligence that which is brought in; and man Thou wilt in a like way destroy. For what is that, that to a mountain falling, a rock removed, a stone worn hollow, and ground consumed by the washing of the flood, the ruin of man is likened, but this, which we are plainly given to understand, that there are two sorts of temptations, one sort, which passes in the mind even of the good man by sudden accident, that he should be so tempted of a sudden, that by the unexpectedness of the event it should make him reel, and bring him to the ground, and that he does not see his falling, until after he has fallen; while there is another which comes by little and little into the mind, and by gentle suggestions corrupts the resisting soul, and not by its excessiveness but by its importunity wastes all the powers of righteousness therein? And so, whereas there is one sort of temptation, which by a sudden assault very often brings the good down to the ground, let it be said, And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place, i.e. the holy mind, whose place was righteousness, is by a sudden impulse removed into sin. Again, because there is another sort of temptation, which infuses itself gently into the heart of man, and wears and wastes all the hardness of its resolution, let it be said, The waters wear the stones; in this way, viz. that the unremitted and soft flatteries of lust suck away the hardness of the soul, and the slow and penetrating evil habit corrodes the hard and forcible purpose of the mind. Hence it is added, And by washing the ground is consumed little by little. For as when water flows in, ‘the ground is consumed little by little,’ so when bad habit creeps on [n] by gentle degrees, even the strong mind is engulphed. Hence it is well added, And Thou wilt in a like way destroy man, i.e. in this way, that when Thou by a righteous appointment sufferest temptation of a sudden to get the dominion over the mind of him, who is seen to have his stand on high, Thou causes; ‘the mountain to fall and slip away,’ and when the will is changed to evil, it is as if ‘the rock were removed to a new place,’ but whilst Thou lettest a gentle and fine yet unremitting temptation prevail over the minds of those, who are accounted strong, ‘the waters in a manner wear the stones, and by washing, the ground is consumed little by little,’ in that the hardness of the mind being subdued by gentle suggesting is made soft.
23. Let us see how that David was a ‘high mountain,’ who was enabled to contemplate such great mysteries of God by the Spirit of prophecy; but let us mark how he ‘slipped down,’ by a sudden fall, who whilst walking on the solar, lusted after and carried off another man’s wife, and killed her husband with loss to his own army. Then ‘fell a mountain with a sudden fall,’ when that mind which was used to dwell with heavenly mysteries, was overcome by sudden temptation, and brought under to such most monstrous pollution. And so ‘the rock was removed from its place,’ when the mind of the prophet being shut out from the mysteries of prophecy came to imagine filthy things. Let us see moreover how ‘the waters wear the stones, and by washing the ground is consumed little by little,’ in that Solomon by an immoderate intercourse and frequency with women was brought to this pass, that he built a temple to idols: and he who had before erected a temple to God, by frequency of lust, being even bowed down under misbelief, was not afraid to erect idol temples. And so it came to pass, that by unremitting wantonness of the flesh, he was brought even to misbelief of the spirit. What else then, but that the ‘waters did wear away the stone, and by washing the ground was consumed little by little,’ in that by the encroaching [surripiente] of sin as it flowed in little by little, the ground of his heart crumbled away unto wasting? Thus let blessed Job consider both sorts of temptation, whether the sudden and excessive, or the gentle and prolonged sort, let him contemplate the falls of his fellow-creatures, and from those things which take place outwardly let him catch the keynote of his contemplation within, saying, And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place: the waters wear the stones, and by washing little by little the earth is wasted; and Thou wilt in like manner destroy men; i.e. ‘as these things without sense at one time are brought to the ground suddenly, at one time are worn little by little by the softness of water being let in; so likewise him, whom Thou hast created a reasoning creature, Thou dost either overthrow by sudden temptation, or permittest to be worn and wasted by a long and gentle one;’ and that reasoning creature he directly describes in the following words.
Continue studying Job 14:18 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Job 14:18 powerfully articulates Job's profound despair through vivid and unsettling natural imagery, asserting that even the most enduring and seemingly immutable elements of the earth—mountains and rocks—are relentlessly subjected to forces of decay and displacement. This verse serves as a potent metaphor for the transient and fragile nature of human existence, highlighting Job's deep conviction that if even the seemingly eternal can be undone, then humanity's fleeting life offers no hope of renewal, permanence, or return from the grave.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 14:18 employs several powerful literary devices to convey its message of profound despair and the impermanence of existence. The primary device is Metaphor and Analogy, where the seemingly immutable "mountain" and "rock" serve as powerful symbols for permanence and stability. By depicting their "falling," "coming to nought," and being "removed," Job creates a stark analogy for the fragility of human life. If even these grand, enduring features of the earth can be undone, how much more fleeting and vulnerable is humanity? This also borders on Hyperbole, as the literal "coming to nought" of a mountain or the complete "removal" of a rock might be an exaggeration intended to emphasize the extreme nature of the decay and change Job perceives in his suffering. Furthermore, the verse utilizes Synonymous Parallelism, where the second clause ("and the rock is removed out of his place") reiterates and intensifies the idea presented in the first clause ("And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought"), reinforcing the central theme of universal impermanence through two distinct but related images. The overall tone is one of deep Lament and despair, reflecting Job's personal suffering and his bleak outlook on mortality.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 14:18 stands as a stark declaration of the transient nature of all created things, even those that appear most enduring. Theologically, it challenges any human tendency to place ultimate trust or hope in the stability of the physical world or in human longevity. By portraying mountains and rocks—ancient symbols of permanence—as subject to decay and removal, Job implicitly points to a profound truth that transcends the created order: only God is truly eternal, immutable, and unchanging. This verse thus serves as a powerful reminder of divine sovereignty over creation and time, highlighting that all physical existence is contingent upon the will and sustaining power of the Creator. It underscores the vast chasm between human finitude and God's infinite, unshakeable nature, compelling the reader to seek an enduring hope beyond the fleeting realities of this world and to anchor their faith in the One who remains steadfast when all else crumbles.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job 14:18, though born from a place of profound suffering and despair, offers a timeless and sobering perspective on the nature of reality. It challenges our often-unconscious assumption that the world around us, or even our own lives, possess an inherent permanence. In a culture that frequently prioritizes material accumulation, fleeting achievements, and the pursuit of earthly security, Job's lament serves as a powerful counter-narrative. It calls us to acknowledge the inherent impermanence of all physical things—our possessions, our health, our relationships, and even the very landscapes we inhabit. This recognition is not meant to induce despair but to reorient our focus. If mountains can "come to nought" and rocks be "removed," then our ultimate hope and security must be anchored in something that transcends the temporal. This verse implicitly points us toward the eternal, the unchanging, and the truly steadfast. It invites us to consider what foundations are truly unshakeable and to invest our lives in that which will endure beyond the decay of this world, fostering a deeper reliance on God's eternal nature rather than on transient earthly realities. It encourages us to cultivate a spiritual perspective that values the eternal over the temporal, prompting us to live with intentionality, purpose, and a profound awareness of the brevity of life and the enduring nature of God's kingdom.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does Job 14:18 suggest that God is weak or that creation is out of control?
Answer: No, quite the opposite. While Job's lament expresses his personal despair and the perceived relentless nature of decay, the verse implicitly points to an overwhelming power that can effect such changes. In the broader biblical narrative, this power is ultimately God's. The fact that even the most enduring parts of creation are subject to change and "come to nought" or are "removed" underscores God's absolute sovereignty over all things, including the processes of time and decay. Far from suggesting weakness, it highlights God's immense power to create, sustain, and ultimately, to bring all things to their appointed end or transformation. The very impermanence of creation serves to magnify the eternal and unchangeable nature of God himself, who is the true and only constant, as affirmed in Psalm 102:25-27 where the heavens and earth will perish, but God remains.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Job 14:18 articulates a profound despair over the impermanence of creation and human life, its bleak outlook finds its ultimate answer and transformation in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The "mountain falling" and "rock removed" speak to a world subject to decay and dissolution, a reality that sin introduced and which Job acutely felt. However, Christ stands as the eternal "Rock" (as seen in 1 Corinthians 10:4) who cannot be moved or brought to nought. His resurrection from the dead decisively conquered the power of decay and death that Job so lamented, offering the promise of an imperishable inheritance and a living hope (1 Peter 1:3-4). Furthermore, while the old creation is subject to decay, Christ inaugurates a new creation, a kingdom that "cannot be shaken" (Hebrews 12:28), culminating in the promise of a new heavens and a new earth where "there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain" (Revelation 21:4). Thus, the despair of Job 14:18, highlighting the transient nature of all earthly things, ultimately points to the enduring hope found only in Christ, who is the same "yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8), and in whom all things hold together and find their ultimate purpose (Colossians 1:17).