Job 14
1 Man, born of woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries.
“We humans are very frail. We live only a short time, and we experience a lot of trouble.
2 He comes forth like a flower, and is crushed, and he flees, as if a shadow, and never remains in the same state.
We disappear quickly, like flowers that grow from the ground quickly and then wither and die [SIM]. We are like shadows that disappear [when the sun stops shining].
3 And do you consider it fitting to look down with your eyes on someone in this way and to lead him into judgment with you?
[Yahweh, ] why do you keep watching me [to see if I am doing something that is wrong] [RHQ]? Are you wanting to take me to court to judge me?
4 Who can make him clean who is conceived of unclean seed? Are you not the only one who can?
People are sinners from the time when they are born; who can cause them to be sinless? No one [RHQ]!
5 The days of man are short, and the number of his months is with you; you have determined his limits, which cannot be surpassed.
You have decided how long our lives will be. You have decided how many months we will live, and we cannot live more months than the (limit/number of months) that you have decided.
6 Withdraw a little from him, so that he may rest, until his awaited day arrives, like that of the hired hand.
So please stop examining us, and allow us to be alone, until/while we finish our time [here on earth], like a man finishes his work [at the end of the day].
7 A tree has hope: if it has been cut, it turns green again, and its branches spring forth.
If someone cuts a tree down, we hope that it will sprout again and grow new branches.
8 If its roots grow old in the earth, and its trunk passes into dust,
Its roots in the ground may be very old, and its stump may decay,
9 at the scent of water, it will sprout and bring forth leaves, as when it had first been planted.
but if some water falls on it, it may bud/sprout and send up shoots like a young plant.
10 Truly, when a man dies, and has been left unprotected, and has decayed, I ask you where is he?
But when we people lose all our strength and die, we stop breathing and then we are gone [forever].
11 It is as if the waters had receded from the sea and an emptied river had dried up;
Just like water evaporates from the ocean, or like a riverbed dries up,
12 just so, when a man is fallen asleep, he will not rise again, until the heavens are worn away; he will not awaken, nor rise from his sleep.
people [lie down and die and] do not get up again. Until the heavens disappear, people who die [EUP] do not wake up, and no one can wake them up.
13 Who will grant this to me, that you will protect me in the underworld, and hide me until your fury passes by, and establish a time for me, in which you will remember me? (Sheol h7585)
[“Yahweh, ] I wish that you would put me safely in the place of the dead and forget about me until you are no longer angry with me. I wish that you would decide how much time I would spend there, and then remember [that] I [am there]. (Sheol h7585)
14 Do you suppose that a dead man will live again? On each of the days in which I now battle, I wait until my transformation occurs.
When we humans die, we will certainly not live again [RHQ]. If [I knew that] we would live again, I would wait patiently, and I would wait for you to release me [from my sufferings].
15 You will call me and I will answer you; to the work of your hands, you will extend your right hand.
You would call me, and I would answer. You would be eager to see me, one of the creatures that you had made.
16 Indeed, you have numbered my steps, but you have been lenient with my sins.
You would take care of [MET] me, instead of watching me to see if I would sin.
17 You have sealed up my offenses, as if in a purse, but you have cured my iniquity.
[It is as though the record of] my sins would be sealed in a small bag, and you would cover them up.
18 A falling mountain flows away, and a stone is transferred from its place.
“But, just like mountains crumble and rocks fall down from a cliff,
19 Waters wear away stones, and with a flood the land is reduced little by little; and similarly, you will destroy man.
and just like water slowly wears away the stones, and just like floods wash away soil, [you eventually destroy us]; you do not allow us to continue to (hope/confidently expect) [that we will keep on living].
20 You have strengthened him for a little while, so that he may cross over into eternity. You will change his face and send him forth.
You always defeat us, and then we die [EUP]. You cause our faces to look ugly after we die, and you send us away.
21 Whether his sons have been noble or ignoble, he will not understand.
[When we die] we do not know if our sons will grow up and [do things that will cause them to] be honored. And if they become disgraced, we do not see that, [either].
22 And in this way his body, while he yet lives, will have grief, and his soul will mourn over himself.
We will feel our own pains; we will not feel anything else; we will be sorry for ourselves, not for anyone else.”
