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Job 14

KJV · Chapter 14/42

1Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

2He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

3And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?

4Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

5Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;

6Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.

7For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

8Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;

9Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.

10But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?

11As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:

12So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

13O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!

14If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

15Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

16For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?

17My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.

18And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place.

19The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.

20Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.

21His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.

22But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Job reflects on the brevity of human life, comparing it to a flower that withers and a shadow that passes. He notes that even a felled tree can sprout again, but man, once dead, does not return, and he asks whether there is hope of life after death.

Explanation

This chapter contains one of the most profound reflections in the Old Testament on human mortality and the possibility of life after death, a question that did not yet have a fully developed answer in the Hebrew theology of the time the book was written. Job's central question — "if a man die, shall he live again?" (verse 14) — expresses a genuine longing for hope beyond the grave, one that would find a clearer and more affirmative answer only in later biblical revelation. Application for today: honestly questioning the meaning of life and death before God, even without complete answers, is a legitimate part of the path of faith.

Fun facts

  • The comparison between the felled tree that can still sprout again and the human being who, once dead, does not return (verses 7-12) is one of the earliest explicit biblical reflections on the apparent finality of human death, in contrast with the observable cycles of nature.
  • Job's request to be hidden in the grave until God's wrath turns away (verse 13) suggests a paradoxical desire: not for final death, but for a temporary refuge until his situation is resolved — revealing the emotional complexity of his plea.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Job 14:1“Of few days, and full of trouble” sums up Job’s view of human life in general, not just his own — a lament over the condition of anyone at all.
  2. Job 14:2Job compares human life to a flower that withers and a shadow that keeps fleeing — an image of fragility that reappears in a number of the psalms.
  3. Job 14:3Job asks why God would fix His eyes on something as fleeting as man, to the point of bringing him to judgment.
  4. Job 14:4“Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one” is almost a proverb — Job uses universal impurity to explain human frailty, not as a specific accusation against himself.
  5. Job 14:5Job says man’s days are already numbered by God, with a fixed limit that cannot be crossed — a fatalistic view of a short, predetermined life.
  6. Job 14:6Job asks God to look away from him, letting him have a little peace, like a hired man who just wants to get through his workday.
  7. Job 14:7The felled tree that still sprouts again is used as a contrast: even a plant gets a second chance, but a dead human being does not.
  8. Job 14:8Continuing the tree image from the previous verse: even though its root grows old in the earth and its stump dies in the ground,
  9. Job 14:9just the scent of water is enough for that tree to bud again and put out branches — the capacity to be reborn that man, according to Job, does not have.
  10. Job 14:10But man dies and is laid low — he gives up the ghost, and then where is he? The contrast with the tree that sprouts again is the central point of the chapter.
  11. Job 14:11The waters of a lake fail and the river dries up — one more comparison to something that disappears and does not return.
  12. Job 14:12Job concludes, at least for now, that man lies down and does not rise until the heavens are no more — it seems to deny resurrection, though he himself will waver on this very soon.
  13. Job 14:13Job wishes to be hidden in Sheol until God’s wrath has passed, and for God to remember him afterward — a flash of hope for a future reunion, right after having said death is final.
  14. Job 14:14The question of whether a dead man could live again is a flash of hope for life after death, but Job does not answer yes — he only raises the possibility before sinking back into despair.
  15. Job 14:15Job imagines God calling for him and longing for the work of His own hands — a fantasy of reconciliation, the opposite of the hostile surveillance he feels now.
  16. Job 14:16In this imagined future, God would count his steps without watching over his sin — a direct contrast with the persecution Job feels in the present.
  17. Job 14:17The transgression “sealed up in a bag” is an image of sins stored away and covered over, no longer used against him — a forgiveness Job only dares to imagine.
  18. Job 14:18Job returns to raw realism: even the mountain falls and crumbles, even the rock is moved from its place — nothing is permanent, not even what seems most solid.
  19. Job 14:19Waters wear away the stones and floods carry off the soil — Job uses natural erosion as an image of how God likewise wears down and destroys human hope, little by little.
  20. Job 14:20God prevails forever against man, and he passes on; God changes his countenance and sends him away — death described as being overpowered and dismissed by a greater force.
  21. Job 14:21Job observes that the dead do not know whether their children are honored or brought low after them — death severs even the bond with what happens to one’s own family.
  22. Job 14:22The chapter closes with an isolated image: only his own flesh feels pain, only his own soul mourns — a solitary end, with no awareness of the world around him.

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