Job 14: If a Man Dies
Job meditates on the brevity of human life and dares to hope, against the silence of the grave, that God might one day call and he would answer.
Job 14 (WEB)
1 “Man, who is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble.
2 He grows up like a flower, and is cut down. He also flees like a shadow, and doesn’t continue.
3 Do you open your eyes on such a one, and bring me into judgment with you?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.
5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his bounds that he can’t pass;
6 Look away from him, that he may rest, until he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day.
7 “For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, that the tender branch of it will not cease.
8 Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stock dies in the ground,
9 yet through the scent of water it will bud, and sprout boughs like a plant.
10 But man dies, and is laid low. Yes, man gives up the spirit, and where is he?
11 As the waters fail from the sea, and the river wastes and dries up,
12 so man lies down and doesn’t rise. Until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep.
13 “Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would keep me secret, until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my warfare would I wait, until my release should come.
15 You would call, and I would answer you. You would have a desire to the work of your hands.
16 But now you number my steps. Don’t you watch over my sin?
17 My disobedience is sealed up in a bag. You fasten up my iniquity.
18 “But the mountain falling comes to nothing. The rock is removed out of its place;
19 The waters wear the stones. The torrents of it wash away the dust of the earth. So you destroy the hope of man.
20 You forever prevail against him, and he departs. You change his face, and send him away.
21 His sons come to honor, and he doesn’t know it. They are brought low, but he doesn’t perceive it of them.
22 But his flesh on him has pain, and his soul within him mourns.”
Job 14 (KJV)
1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
6 Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.
7 For 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.
8 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
9 Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
11 As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
13 O 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!
14 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
16 For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.
18 And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place.
19 The 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.
20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
21 His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
22 But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
Job 14 (ASV)
1 Man, that is born of a woman, Is of few days, and full of trouble.
2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: He fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one, And bringest me into judgment with thee?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
5 Seeing his days are determined, The number of his months is with thee, And thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
6 Look away from him, that he may rest, Till he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day.
7 For 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.
8 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, And the stock thereof die in the ground;
9 Yet through the scent of water it will bud, And put forth boughs like a plant.
10 But man dieth, and is laid low: Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
11 Asthe waters fail from the sea, And the river wasteth and drieth up;
12 So man lieth down and riseth not: Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, Nor be roused out of their sleep.
13 Oh that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol, That thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, That thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man die, shall he liveagain? All the days of my warfare would I wait, Till my release should come.
15 Thou wouldest call, and I would answer thee: Thou wouldest have a desire to the work of thy hands.
16 But now thou numberest my steps: Dost thou not watch over my sin?
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, And thou fastenest up mine iniquity.
18 But the mountain falling cometh to nought; And the rock is removed out of its place;
19 The waters wear the stones; The overflowings thereof wash away the dust of the earth: So thou destroyest the hope of man.
20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth; Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
21 His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; And they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
22 But his flesh upon him hath pain, And his soul within him mourneth.
Summary
Job closes his speech with a tender meditation on the frailty of human life. Man, born of woman, is of few days and full of trouble; he springs up like a flower and is cut down, flees like a shadow and does not endure. Job marvels that God would even fix his gaze on such a fragile creature, and pleads with God to look away and let him rest like a hired worker finishing his day. He contrasts a tree with a man: a tree cut down may sprout again at the mere scent of water, but when a man dies he is laid low, and Job wonders aloud where he goes. As waters fail from a drying sea, so man lies down and does not rise until the heavens are no more. Yet from this bleakness rises a fragile, beautiful hope: Job wishes God would hide him in Sheol until his wrath is past, then appoint him a set time and remember him. He asks the question that aches across the whole Old Testament—if a man dies, shall he live again?—and dares to imagine God calling and Job answering, God longing for the work of his hands. But the hope flickers as he returns to lament: God seals up his sin, wears away the mountains and the stones, and so destroys the hope of man, who departs in pain. The chapter leaves us reaching for a resurrection answer that only the gospel will finally supply.
Voices
- Job (speaking) — The sufferer who meditates on the brevity of life and the silence of death, yet dares to hope that God might one day call him and remember him.
- God (addressed) — The God whom Job asks to look away and grant rest, yet whom he imagines longing for the work of his hands and calling Job to answer.
Key Verse
Job 14:14 (WEB)
If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my warfare would I wait, until my release should come.
Lessons Learned
- Human life is brief and fragile, a flower that fades and a shadow that flees.
- Honest reflection on death can drive us to long for hope beyond the grave.
- Even in deep darkness, faith reaches for the possibility that God will remember us.
- The questions Job could only ask find their answer in the resurrection won by Christ.
- Life is short and full of trouble. “Man, who is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble” (Job 14:1, WEB); honesty about our frailty is the soil where real hope grows.
- Death raises the deepest question. “If a man dies, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14, WEB)—the ache for life beyond the grave that the whole Bible answers in Christ.
- Faith dares to hope God will remember. Job longs that God would “appoint me a set time, and remember me” (Job 14:13, WEB), trusting in being recalled rather than forgotten.
- God desires the work of his hands. “You would have a desire to the work of your hands” (Job 14:15, WEB); even here Job glimpses a God who longs for the creatures he has made.
- What images does Job use to describe the brevity and fragility of human life?
- How does the contrast between a tree and a man (14:7-12) sharpen Job's lament?
- What is the fragile hope Job voices in verses 13-15, and why is it so striking amid his despair?
- How does Job's question 'If a man dies, shall he live again?' (14:14) find its answer in the resurrection of Jesus?
- When you reflect on the shortness of life, where do you find your hope, and how does Christ change that?
- Job compares human life to a flower that grows up and is cut down and a shadow that flees and does not continue (14:1-2). He adds the image of waters failing from a drying sea (14:11). These pictures press home how brief, fragile, and trouble-filled our days are, deepening the pathos of his lament.
- Job notes that a felled tree can sprout again at the scent of water (14:7-9), but a man who dies is laid low and does not rise until the heavens are no more (14:10-12). The contrast intensifies his grief: even a stump has more apparent hope than a dying man, by what he can presently see.
- Amid the gloom Job dares to wish that God would hide him in Sheol, set a time, and remember him, imagining God calling and Job answering, God desiring the work of his hands (14:13-15). It is a flicker of resurrection hope, remarkable for clinging to a future with God beyond death.
- Job's longing question (14:14) goes unanswered in his day, but Jesus answers it definitively. Christ's own resurrection guarantees that those in him will live again (John 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22). The hope Job could only reach for becomes our settled assurance in the gospel.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to reflect honestly on mortality and to locate their hope in Christ, who has conquered death. As leader, hold the chapter's sober realism together with the gospel's confident hope, comforting any who grieve with the promise of resurrection.