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Job 14
New Catholic Bible
Job 14
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 14
Everyone Born of Woman . . .[a]
1 “Everyone born of woman
has life that is short and filled with troubles.
2 He blossoms like a flower and soon begins to wither;
as fleeting as a shadow, he does not endure.
3 Is it upon a creature like this that you fix your gaze
and bring him before you to be judged?
4 “Can a man be found who has avoided defilement?
There is no such person.
5 The extent of his life has already been determined,
and the number of his months is known to you;
you have established the limits that he cannot pass.
6 Turn your gaze away from him and leave him alone
so that, like a hired laborer, he may complete his days.
7 “At least for a tree there is always hope:
if it is cut down, it may sprout once again,
and its new shoots may burst with life.
8 Although its roots age in the earth
and its stump dies in the ground,
9 once it scents water it will begin to bud
and put forth branches like a sapling.
10 “But when a man dies, he remains lifeless;
what is his fate once he expires?
11 As occurs when the waters of a lake recede
or a river ceases to flow and runs dry,
12 so men lie down and never rise again;
until the heavens cease to exist, they will not awaken
or be stirred out of their slumber.
Hide Me in the Netherworld[b]
13 “How I wish you would hide me in the netherworld
and shelter me until your wrath has subsided
while designating a time to call me to mind.
14 If one who dies were permitted to live once again,
I would willingly endure all the days of my service
waiting for my relief to arrive.
15 You would call and I would answer you;
you would long to see once again the creature you have made.
16 You would count my every step
but not watch for any evidence of sin in me.
17 You would store up all my transgressions in a bag,
and you would cover over my guilt.
18 “But as a mountain eventually falls
and a rock is removed from its place,
19 as the waters wear away the stones
and cloudbursts wash away the soil,
so you destroy the hope of man.
20 You crush him once for all and he disappears;
you alter his appearance and send him away.
21 If his sons are honored, he is unaware of it;
if they are disgraced, he does not know it.
22 He is cognizant only of the pains his flesh endures,
and he grieves for no one except himself.”
Footnotes
- Job 14:1 Thoroughly unclean, humans cannot attain true purity, i.e., moral perfection. This wretchedness is precisely their excuse before God. And if the universe can be shaken and then renewed, for humans there is no revival; they remain buried in death forever. Survival in the subterranean netherworld is nothing more than a diminished existence. Human beings thus hasten toward their end without hope. What reason is there for God to pursue them?
- Job 14:13 An astounding proposition is put forth: Job desires to descend to the netherworld as in a provisional hiding place or refuge (Ps 139:7-12; Isa 26:20) to escape the divine wrath and wait there for the Lord to remember the creature [he has] made and grant him forgiveness. Job dreams of immortality and suffers because he no longer enjoys the friendship of his God.
Job 14
New International Version
Job 14
New International Version
14 “Mortals, born of woman,(A)
are of few days(B) and full of trouble.(C)
2 They spring up like flowers(D) and wither away;(E)
like fleeting shadows,(F) they do not endure.(G)
3 Do you fix your eye on them?(H)
Will you bring them[a] before you for judgment?(I)
4 Who can bring what is pure(J) from the impure?(K)
No one!(L)
5 A person’s days are determined;(M)
you have decreed the number of his months(N)
and have set limits he cannot exceed.(O)
6 So look away from him and let him alone,(P)
till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.(Q)
7 “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)
8 Its roots may grow old in the ground
and its stump(U) die in the soil,
9 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)”
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.