Job 14
1 “We humans are very frail. We live only a short time, and we experience a lot of trouble.
“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.
2 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].
Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.
3 [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?
Do You open Your eyes to one like this? Will You bring him into judgment before You?
4 People are sinners from the time when they are born; who can cause them to be sinless? No one [RHQ]!
Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!
5 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.
Since his days are determined and the number of his months is with You, and since You have set limits that he cannot exceed,
6 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].
look away from him and let him rest, so he can enjoy his day as a hired hand.
7 If someone cuts a tree down, we hope that it will sprout again and grow new branches.
For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail.
8 Its roots in the ground may be very old, and its stump may decay,
If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil,
9 but if some water falls on it, it may bud/sprout and send up shoots like a young plant.
at the scent of water it will bud and put forth twigs like a sapling.
10 But when we people lose all our strength and die, we stop breathing and then we are gone [forever].
But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?
11 Just like water evaporates from the ocean, or like a riverbed dries up,
As water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and dry,
12 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.
so a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no more, he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.
13 [“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)
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)
14 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].
When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, until my renewal comes.
15 You would call me, and I would answer. You would be eager to see me, one of the creatures that you had made.
You will call, and I will answer; You will desire the work of Your hands.
16 You would take care of [MET] me, instead of watching me to see if I would sin.
For then You would count my steps, but would not keep track of my sin.
17 [It is as though the record of] my sins would be sealed in a small bag, and you would cover them up.
My transgression would be sealed in a bag, and You would cover over my iniquity.
18 “But, just like mountains crumble and rocks fall down from a cliff,
But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place,
19 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].
as water wears away the stones and torrents wash away the soil, so You destroy a man’s hope.
20 You always defeat us, and then we die [EUP]. You cause our faces to look ugly after we die, and you send us away.
You forever overpower him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away.
21 [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].
If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he is unaware.
22 We will feel our own pains; we will not feel anything else; we will be sorry for ourselves, not for anyone else.”
He feels only the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself.”
