Job 14
1 Man, who is born of woman, lives only a few days and is full of trouble.
“We humans are very frail. We live only a short time, and we experience a lot of trouble.
2 He sprouts from the ground like a flower and is cut down; he flees like a shadow and does not last.
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 Do you look at any of these? Do you bring me 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 bring something clean out of something unclean? No one.
People are sinners from the time when they are born; who can cause them to be sinless? No one [RHQ]!
5 Man's days are determined. The number of his months is with you; you have appointed his limits that 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 Look away from him that he may rest, so that he may enjoy his day like a hired man if he can do so.
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 There can be hope for a tree; if it is cut down, it might sprout again, so that its tender stalk does not disappear.
If someone cuts a tree down, we hope that it will sprout again and grow new branches.
8 Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground,
Its roots in the ground may be very old, and its stump may decay,
9 yet even if it only smells water, it will bud and send out branches like a plant.
but if some water falls on it, it may bud/sprout and send up shoots like a young plant.
10 But man dies; he becomes weak; indeed, man stops breathing, and then where is he?
But when we people lose all our strength and die, we stop breathing and then we are gone [forever].
11 As water disappears from a lake, and as a river loses water and dries up,
Just like water evaporates from the ocean, or like a riverbed dries up,
12 so people lie down and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor 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, that you would hide me away in Sheol away from troubles, and that you would keep me in private until your wrath is over, that you would set me a fixed time to stay there and then call me to mind! (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 If a man dies, will he live again? If so, I would wish to wait all my weary time there until my release should 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 You would call, and I would answer you. You would have a desire for the work of your 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 You would number and care for my footsteps; you would not keep track of my sin.
You would take care of [MET] me, instead of watching me to see if I would sin.
17 My transgression would be sealed up in a bag; you would cover up 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 even mountains fall and come to nothing; even rocks are moved out of their place;
“But, just like mountains crumble and rocks fall down from a cliff,
19 the waters wear down the stones; their flooding washes away the dust of the earth. Like this, you destroy 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 You always defeat him, and he passes away; you change his face and send him away to die.
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 If his sons are honored, he does not know it; and if they are brought low, he does not see it.
[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 He feels only the pain of his own body, and he mourns for himself.
We will feel our own pains; we will not feel anything else; we will be sorry for ourselves, not for anyone else.”
