Job 14
1 Man born of a woman is short of days, and sated with harrowing trouble.
“We humans are very frail. We live only a short time, and we experience a lot of trouble.
2 Like a flower he cometh forth, and is cut down: and he fleeth like a shadow, and remaineth not.
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 yet on such a one dost thou open thy eyes, and me thou bringest into judgment with thee?
[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 a clean thing out of an unclean? not one [thing].
People are sinners from the time when they are born; who can cause them to be sinless? No one [RHQ]!
5 Seeing that his days are determined, the number of his months are [fixed] with thee, that thou hast set his bounds which he cannot pass:
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 Turn thyself from him that he may recover from his pain, and be able to enjoy like a hired laborer his day.
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 For there is hope for the tree: if it be cut down, it may still sprout again, while its young shoot will not cease.
If someone cuts a tree down, we hope that it will sprout again and grow new branches.
8 If even its root become old in the earth, and its stock die in the dust:
Its roots in the ground may be very old, and its stump may decay,
9 Yet through the scent of water will it flourish [again], and produce boughs as though It were newly planted.
but if some water falls on it, it may bud/sprout and send up shoots like a young plant.
10 But man dieth, and lieth powerless: yea, the son of earth departeth—and where is he?
But when we people lose all our strength and die, we stop breathing and then we are gone [forever].
11 The waters run off from the sea, and the river faileth and drieth up:
Just like water evaporates from the ocean, or like a riverbed dries up,
12 So doth man lie down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they will not awake, and will not be roused out of their 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 Oh who would grant that thou mightest hide me in the nether world, that thou mightest conceal me, until thy wrath be appeased, that thou mightest set for me a fixed time, and remember me then! (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 Or, when a man dieth, will he live again? all the days of my time of service would I then wait, till [the hour of] my release were come.
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 Do thou call, and I will truly answer thee: have a desire for the work of thy hands.
You would call me, and I would answer. You would be eager to see me, one of the creatures that you had made.
16 Yet now thou numberest my steps: and thou waitest not with [the punishment of] my sin.
You would take care of [MET] me, instead of watching me to see if I would sin.
17 Sealed up in a bag is my transgression, and thou yet addest to 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 But truly a falling mountain will crumble, and [even] a rock is moved out of its place.
“But, just like mountains crumble and rocks fall down from a cliff,
19 The water weareth out stones; thou sweepest away their fragments [like] the dust of the earth: and so thou destroyest the hope of 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 Thou assailest him with might without ceasing, till he passeth away: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him off.
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 His children acquire honor, but he knoweth it not: and they are esteemed little, but he perceiveth nothing of them.
[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 But his body. on him, feeleth pain, and his soul will mourn for him.
We will feel our own pains; we will not feel anything else; we will be sorry for ourselves, not for anyone else.”
