Job 14

14“Man who is born of woman

Is of few days and ^afull of ¹trouble.

^2bHe comes forth like a flower and fades away;

He flees like a shadow and does not continue.

³And ^cdo You open Your eyes on such a one,

And ^dbring ²me to judgment with Yourself?

⁴Who ^ecan bring a clean thing out of an unclean?

No one!

^5fSince his days are determined,

The number of his months is with You;

You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.

^6gLook away from him that he may ³rest,

Till ^hlike a hired man he finishes his day.

⁷“For there is hope for a tree,

If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,

And that its tender shoots will not cease.

⁸Though its root may grow old in the earth,

And its stump may die in the ground,

⁹Yet at the scent of water it will bud

And bring forth branches like a plant.

¹⁰But man dies and ⁴is laid away;

Indeed he ⁵breathes his last

And where is ⁱhe?

¹¹As water disappears from the sea,

And a river becomes parched and dries up,

¹²So man lies down and does not rise.

^jTill the heavens are no more,

They will not awake

Nor be roused from their sleep.

¹³“Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,

That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,

That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

¹⁴If a man dies, shall he live again?

All the days of my hard service ^kI will wait,

Till my change comes.

^15lYou shall call, and I will answer You;

You shall desire the work of Your hands.

¹⁶For now ^mYou number my steps,

But do not watch over my sin.

¹⁷ⁿMy transgression is sealed up in a bag,

And You ⁶cover my iniquity.

¹⁸“But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,

And as a rock is moved from its place;

¹⁹As water wears away stones,

And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;

So You destroy the hope of man.

²⁰You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;

You change his countenance and send him away.

²¹His sons come to honor, and ^ohe does not know it;

They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.

²²But his flesh will be in pain over it,

And his soul will mourn over it.”