Job 14

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

1Every person born into this world lives only a short time. And those days are full of trouble.

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

2A person grows like a flower, then dries up and dies. He slips away like a shadow and does not stay.

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

3Do you really watch someone this small so closely? Do you call him to stand before you and be judged?

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

4Nobody can make something clean come out of something dirty. Not one person can do it.

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

5You already decided how long each person lives. You know the number of his months. You set a line he cannot cross.

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

6So look away from him and let him rest. Let him finish his day like a worker who is paid.

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.

7There is hope for a tree. If someone cuts it down, it can grow back. New soft branches will keep coming.

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

8This is true even if its roots grow old under the ground. It is true even if the stump seems dead in the soil.

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

9Just the smell of water makes the tree bud. It grows new branches like a young plant.

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

10But a man dies and is laid low. He breathes his last breath. Then where is he?

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

11Water can vanish from a lake. A river can dry up until nothing is left.

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

12In the same way, a person lies down and does not get up. Until the sky and stars are gone, he will not wake up. No one will rouse him from that sleep.

Note"Till the heavens be no more" means until the whole sky and everything above is gone. Job is saying the dead stay asleep for a very long time.

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!

13I wish you would hide me in the place of the dead. Keep me out of sight until your anger goes away. Then pick a time to remember me again.

NoteThe KJV says "the grave." The Hebrew word is Sheol, the place where the dead were said to go. Job is asking to be hidden there, not asking to be buried in a nice way.

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

14If a man dies, will he live again? I would wait through all my hard days. I would wait until my new life came.

Note"Till my change come" means until I am made new again. Job is talking about some kind of new life.

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

15You would call me, and I would answer you. You would want to see me, because your own hands made me.

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

16Then you would count my steps with care. But you would not keep a list of my sins.

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

17My wrongs would be shut up in a bag. You would cover them over and put them away.

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

18But a mountain wears down and crumbles apart. A big rock gets pushed out of its 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.

19Water wears holes in stones. Floods wash the soil away. In the same way, you wear down a person's hope.

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

20You are stronger than he is, always. So he passes away. His face changes, and you send him off.

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

21If his sons become important, he does not know it. If they lose everything, he does not know that either.

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

22He only feels the pain in his own body. He only grieves for himself.