Job 14

¹Man born of a woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries.

²Who cometh forth like a flower, and is destroyed, and fleeth as a shadow, and never continueth in the same state.

³And dost thou think it meet to open thy eyes upon such an one, and to bring him into judgment with thee?

⁴Who can make him clean that is conceived of unclean seed? is it not thou who only art?

⁵The days of man are short, and the number of his months is with thee: thou hast appointed his bounds which cannot be passed.

⁶Depart a little from him, that he may rest until his wished for day come, as that of the hireling.

⁷A tree hath hope: if it be cut, it growth green again, and the boughs thereof sprout.

⁸If its roots be old in the earth, and its stock be dead in the dust:

⁹At the scent of water, it shall spring, and bring forth leaves, as when it was first planted.

¹⁰But man when he shall be dead, and stripped and consumed, I pray you where is he?

¹¹As if the waters should depart out of the sea, and an emptied river should be dried up;

¹²So man when he is fallen asleep shall not rise again; till the heavens be broken, he shall not awake, nor rise up out of his sleep.

¹³Who will grant me this, that thou mayst protect me in hell, and hide me till thy wrath pass, and appoint me a time when thou wilt remember me?

¹⁴Shall man that is dead, thinkest thou, live again? all the days in which I am now in warfare, I expect until my change come.

¹⁵Thou shalt call me, and I will answer thee: to the work of thy hands thou shalt reach out thy right hand.

¹⁶Thou indeed hast numbered my steps, but spare my sins.

¹⁷Thou hast sealed up my offences as it were in a bag, but hast cured my iniquity.

¹⁸A mountain falling cometh to nought, and a rock is removed out of its place.

¹⁹Waters wear away the stones, and with inundation the ground by little and little is washed away: so in like manner thou shalt destroy man.

²⁰Thou hast strengthened him for a little while, that he may pass away for ever: thou shalt change his face, and shalt send him away.

²¹Whether his children come to honour or dishonour, he shall not understand.

²²But yet his flesh, while he shall live, shall have pain, and his soul shall mourn over him.

Job 14

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.