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14 (A)We are all born weak and helpless.
    All lead the same short, troubled life.
We grow and wither as quickly as flowers;
    we disappear like shadows.
Will you even look at me, God,
    or put me on trial and judge me?
Nothing clean can ever come
    from anything as unclean as human beings.
The length of our lives is decided beforehand—
    the number of months we will live.
You have settled it, and it can't be changed.
Look away from us and leave us alone;[a]
    let us enjoy our hard life—if we can.[b]

There is hope for a tree that has been cut down;
    it can come back to life and sprout.
Even though its roots grow old,
    and its stump dies in the ground,
    with water it will sprout like a young plant.
10 But we die, and that is the end of us;
    we die, and where are we then?

11 Like rivers that stop running,
    and lakes that go dry,
12     people die, never to rise.
They will never wake up while the sky endures;
    they will never stir from their sleep.

13 I wish you would hide me in the world of the dead;
    let me be hidden until your anger is over,
    and then set a time to remember me.
14 If a man dies, can he come back to life?
But I will wait for better times,
    wait till this time of trouble is ended.
15 Then you will call, and I will answer,
    and you will be pleased with me, your creature.
16 Then you will watch every step I take,
    but you will not keep track of my sins.
17 You will forgive them and put them away;
    you will wipe out all the wrongs I have done.

18 There comes a time when mountains fall
    and solid cliffs are moved away.
19 Water will wear down rocks,
    and heavy rain will wash away the soil;
    so you destroy our hope for life.
20 You overpower us and send us away forever;
    our faces are twisted in death.
21 Our children win honor, but we never know it,
    nor are we told when they are disgraced.
22 We feel only the pain of our own bodies
    and the grief of our own minds.

Footnotes

  1. Job 14:6 One Hebrew manuscript and leave us alone; most Hebrew manuscripts so that we may rest.
  2. Job 14:6 let us … can; or until we finish our day of hard work.

14 “Mortals, born of woman,(A)
    are of few days(B) and full of trouble.(C)
They spring up like flowers(D) and wither away;(E)
    like fleeting shadows,(F) they do not endure.(G)
Do you fix your eye on them?(H)
    Will you bring them[a] before you for judgment?(I)
Who can bring what is pure(J) from the impure?(K)
    No one!(L)
A person’s days are determined;(M)
    you have decreed the number of his months(N)
    and have set limits he cannot exceed.(O)
So look away from him and let him alone,(P)
    till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.(Q)

“At least there is hope for a tree:(R)
    If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
    and its new shoots(S) will not fail.(T)
Its roots may grow old in the ground
    and its stump(U) die in the soil,
yet at the scent of water(V) it will bud
    and put forth shoots like a plant.(W)
10 But a man dies and is laid low;(X)
    he breathes his last and is no more.(Y)
11 As the water of a lake dries up
    or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,(Z)
12 so he lies down and does not rise;(AA)
    till the heavens are no more,(AB) people will not awake
    or be roused from their sleep.(AC)

13 “If only you would hide me in the grave(AD)
    and conceal me till your anger has passed!(AE)
If only you would set me a time
    and then remember(AF) me!(AG)
14 If someone dies, will they live again?
    All the days of my hard service(AH)
    I will wait for my renewal[b](AI) to come.
15 You will call and I will answer you;(AJ)
    you will long for the creature your hands have made.(AK)
16 Surely then you will count my steps(AL)
    but not keep track of my sin.(AM)
17 My offenses will be sealed(AN) up in a bag;(AO)
    you will cover over my sin.(AP)

18 “But as a mountain erodes and crumbles(AQ)
    and as a rock is moved from its place,(AR)
19 as water wears away stones
    and torrents(AS) wash away the soil,(AT)
    so you destroy a person’s hope.(AU)
20 You overpower them once for all, and they are gone;(AV)
    you change their countenance and send them away.(AW)
21 If their children are honored, they do not know it;
    if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.(AX)
22 They feel but the pain of their own bodies(AY)
    and mourn only for themselves.(AZ)

Footnotes

  1. Job 14:3 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew me
  2. Job 14:14 Or release