Job 34:15

15 All flesh would perish together, and man would turn again to dust.

Job 34:15 Meaning and Commentary

Job 34:15

All flesh shall perish together
Not one by one, or one after another, as they generally do, but all together; as when the flood swept away the world of the ungodly. "All flesh" signifies all men, and their bodies of flesh particularly, which are weak, frail, and mortal; and if God gathers or takes out the spirit from them, they die immediately, which is meant by perishing, as in ( Ecclesiastes 7:15 ) ( Isaiah 57:1 ) ;

and man shall turn again unto dust;
from whence he came, as the body does at death; when those earthly tabernacles of the bodies of men, which have their foundation in the dust, are dissolved and sink into it. Now though this is the case of particular persons, one after another, yet it is not a general case, as it would be if God was to exert his power, as he might without any charge of injustice: and this shows the merciful kindness of God to man, so far is he from doing any thing injurious or unjust.

Job 34:15 In-Context

13 Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world?

14 If he should set his heart upon man, [if] he should gather to himself his spirit and his breath;

15 All flesh would perish together, and man would turn again to dust.

16 If now [thou hast] understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words.

17 Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just?