Job chapter 14
English Standard Version
1"Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. 2He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not. 3And do you open your eyes on such a one and bring me into judgment with you? 4Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one. 5Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass, 6 look away from him and leave him alone, that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day. 7"For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. 8Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil, 9yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant. 10But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he? 11 As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up, 12so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep. 13Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come. 15You would call, and I would answer you; you would long for the work of your hands. 16For then you would number my steps; you would not keep watch over my sin; 17my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity. 18"But the mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock is removed from its place; 19the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the soil of the earth; so you destroy the hope of man. 20You prevail forever against him, and he passes; you change his countenance, and send him away. 21His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he perceives it not. 22He feels only the pain of his own body, and he mourns only for himself."
New International Version
1"Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble. 2They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure. 3Do you fix your eye on them? Will you bring them before you for judgment? 4Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one! 5A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.
6So look away from him and let him alone, till he has put in his time like a hired laborer. 7"At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. 8Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, 9yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant. 10But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more. 11As the water of a lake dries up or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,
12so he lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, people will not awake or be roused from their sleep. 13"If only you would hide me in the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would set me a time and then remember me! 14If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. 15You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made. 16Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin.
17My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin. 18"But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and as a rock is moved from its place, 19as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil, so you destroy a person’s hope. 20You overpower them once for all, and they are gone; you change their countenance and send them away. 21If their children are honored, they do not know it; if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it. 22They feel but the pain of their own bodies and mourn only for themselves."
New American Standard Bible
1'Man, who is born of woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil. 2Like a flower he comes out and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain. 3You also open Your eyes on him And bring him into judgment with Yourself. 4Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one! 5Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And You have set his limits so that he cannot pass. 6Look away from him so that he may rest, Until he fulfills his day like a hired worker. 7'For there is hope for a tree, When it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And its shoots will not fail. 8Though its roots grow old in the ground, And its stump dies in the dry soil, 9At the scent of water it will flourish And produce sprigs like a plant. 10But a man dies and lies prostrate. A person passes away, and where is he? 11 As water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dried up, 12So a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens no longer exist, He will not awake nor be woken from his sleep. 13'Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, That You would set a limit for me and remember me! 14If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait Until my relief comes. 15You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands. 16For now You number my steps, You do not observe my sin. 17My wrongdoing is sealed up in a bag, And You cover over my guilt. 18'But the falling mountain crumbles away, And the rock moves from its place; 19Water wears away stones, Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth; So You destroy a man’s hope. 20You forever overpower him and he departs; You change his appearance and send him away. 21His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it; Or they become insignificant, and he does not perceive it. 22However, his body pains him, And his soul mourns for himself.'
Christian Standard Bible
1Anyone born of woman is short of days and full of trouble. 2He blossoms like a flower, then withers; he flees like a shadow and does not last. 3Do you really take notice of one like this? Will you bring me into judgment against you? 4Who can produce something pure from what is impure? No one! 5Since a person’s days are determined and the number of his months depends on you, and since you have set limits he cannot pass,
6look away from him and let him rest so that he can enjoy his day like a hired worker. 7There is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its shoots will not die. 8If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump starts to die in the soil, 9the scent of water makes it thrive and produce twigs like a sapling. 10But a person dies and fades away; he breathes his last—where is he? 11As water disappears from a lake and a river becomes parched and dry,
12so people lie down never to rise again. They will not wake up until the heavens are no more; they will not stir from their sleep. 13If only you would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until your anger passes. If only you would appoint a time for me and then remember me. 14When a person dies, will he come back to life? If so, I would wait all the days of my struggle until my relief comes. 15You would call, and I would answer you. You would long for the work of your hands. 16For then you would count my steps but would not take note of my sin.
17My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity. 18But as a mountain collapses and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place, 19as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil from the land, so you destroy a man’s hope. 20You completely overpower him, and he passes on; you change his appearance and send him away. 21If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it. 22He feels only the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself.
New Living Translation
1'How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! 2We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear. 3Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me? 4Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one! 5You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer. 6So leave us alone and let us rest! We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.
7'Even a tree has more hope! If it is cut down, it will sprout again and grow new branches. 8Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays, 9at the scent of water it will bud and sprout again like a new seedling.
10'But when people die, their strength is gone. They breathe their last, and then where are they? 11As water evaporates from a lake and a river disappears in drought, 12people are laid to rest and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up nor be roused from their sleep.
13'I wish you would hide me in the grave and forget me there until your anger has passed. But mark your calendar to think of me again! 14Can the dead live again? If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle, and I would eagerly await the release of death. 15You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork. 16For then you would guard my steps, instead of watching for my sins. 17My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover my guilt.
18'But instead, as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff, 19as water wears away the stones and floods wash away the soil, so you destroy people’s hope. 20You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene. You disfigure them in death and send them away. 21They never know if their children grow up in honor or sink to insignificance. 22They suffer painfully; their life is full of trouble.'
King James Version
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.
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!
New King James Version
1“Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble. 2 He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue. 3And do You open Your eyes on such a one, And bring me to judgment with Yourself? 4Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! 5 Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass. 6 Look away from him that he may rest, Till like a hired man he finishes his day. 7“For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And that its tender shoots will not cease. 8Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground, 9 Yet at the scent of water it will bud And bring forth branches like a plant. 10But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he? 11 As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, 12So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep. 13“Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes. 15 You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands. 16For now You number my steps, But do not watch over my sin. 17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, And You cover my iniquity. 18“But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, And as a rock is moved from its place; 19 As water wears away stones, And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth; So You destroy the hope of man. 20You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away. 21His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; They are brought low, and he does not perceive it. 22But his flesh will be in pain over it, And his soul will mourn over it.”