Job 14:5-15

5 If his days are determined, if the number of his months is with thee, [and] thou hast appointed his bounds which he must not pass,

6 Look away from him; and let him rest, till he accomplish, as a hireling, his day.

7 For there is hope for a tree: if it be cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender branch will not cease;

8 Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stock die in the ground,

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

10 But a man dieth, and is prostrate; yea, man expireth, and where is he?

11 The waters recede from the lake, and the river wasteth and drieth up:

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

13 Oh that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol, that thou wouldest keep me secret until thine anger 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 time of toil would I wait, till my change should come:

15 Thou wouldest call, and I would answer thee; thou wouldest have a desire after the work of thy hands.

Job 14:5-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 14

Job, having turned himself from his friends to God, continues his address to him in this chapter; wherein he discourses of the frailty of man, the shortness of his life, the troubles that are in it, the sinfulness of it, and its limited duration, beyond which it cannot continue; all which he makes use of with God, that he would not therefore deal rigorously with him, but have pity on him, and cease from severely afflicting him, till he came to the end of his days, which could not be long, Job 14:1-6; he observes of a tree, when it is cut down to the root, yea, when the root is become old, and the stock dies, it will, by means of being watered, bud and sprout again, and produce boughs and branches; but man, like the failing waters of the sea, and the decayed and dried up flood, when he dies, rises not, till the heavens be no more, Job 14:7-12; and then he wishes to be hid in the grave till that time, and expresses hope and belief of the resurrection of the dead, Job 14:13-15; and goes on to complain of the strict notice God took of his sins, of his severe dealings with men, destroying their hope in life, and removing them by death; so that they see and know not the case and circumstances of their children they leave behind, and while they live have continual pain and sorrow, Job 14:16-22.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'enjoy.'