Job 14
1 “Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.
As for man, the son of woman, his days are short and full of trouble.
2 Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.
He comes out like a flower, and is cut down: he goes in flight like a shade, and is never seen again.
3 Do You open Your eyes to one like this? Will You bring him into judgment before You?
Is it on such a one as this that your eyes are fixed, with the purpose of judging him?
4 Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!
If only a clean thing might come out of an unclean! But it is not possible.
5 Since his days are determined and the number of his months is with You, and since You have set limits that he cannot exceed,
If his days are ordered, and you have knowledge of the number of his months, having given him a fixed limit past which he may not go;
6 look away from him and let him rest, so he can enjoy his day as a hired hand.
Let your eyes be turned away from him, and take your hand from him, so that he may have pleasure at the end of his day, like a servant working for payment.
7 For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail.
For there is hope of a tree; if it is cut down, it will come to life again, and its branches will not come to an end.
8 If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil,
Though its root may be old in the earth, and its cut-off end may be dead in the dust;
9 at the scent of water it will bud and put forth twigs like a sapling.
Still, at the smell of water, it will make buds, and put out branches like a young plant.
10 But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?
But man comes to his death and is gone: he gives up his spirit, and where is he?
11 As water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and dry,
The waters go from a pool, and a river becomes waste and dry;
12 so a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no more, he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.
So man goes down to his last resting-place and comes not again: till the heavens come to an end, they will not be awake or come out of their sleep.
13 If only You would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until Your anger has passed! If only You would appoint a time for me and then remember me! (Sheol h7585)
If only you would keep me safe in the underworld, putting me in a secret place till your wrath is past, giving me a fixed time when I might come to your memory again! (Sheol h7585)
14 When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, until my renewal comes.
If death takes a man, will he come to life again? All the days of my trouble I would be waiting, till the time came for me to be free.
15 You will call, and I will answer; You will desire the work of Your hands.
At the sound of your voice I would give an answer, and you would have a desire for the work of your hands.
16 For then You would count my steps, but would not keep track of my sin.
For now my steps are numbered by you, and my sin is not overlooked.
17 My transgression would be sealed in a bag, and You would cover over my iniquity.
My wrongdoing is corded up in a bag, and my sin is shut up safe.
18 But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place,
But truly a mountain falling comes to dust, and a rock is moved from its place;
19 as water wears away the stones and torrents wash away the soil, so You destroy a man’s hope.
The stones are crushed small by the force of the waters; the dust of the earth is washed away by their overflowing: and so you put an end to the hope of man.
20 You forever overpower him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away.
You overcome him for ever, and he is gone; his face is changed in death, and you send him away.
21 If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he is unaware.
His sons come to honour, and he has no knowledge of it; they are made low, but he is not conscious of it.
22 He feels only the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself.”
Only his flesh still has pain, and his soul is sad.
