Job 14:1-22
A Tree Has Hope
1“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.
2Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.
3Do You open Your eyes to one like this? Will You bring him into judgment before You?
4Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!
5Since his days are determined and the number of his months is with You, and since You have set limits that he cannot exceed,
6look away from him and let him rest, so he can enjoy his day as a hired hand.
7For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail.
8If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil,
9at the scent of water it will bud and put forth twigs like a sapling.
10But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?
11As water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and dry,
12so a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no more, he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.
13If only You would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until Your anger has passed! If only You would appoint a time for me and then remember me!
14When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, until my renewal comes.
15You will call, and I will answer; You will desire the work of Your hands.
16For then You would count my steps, but would not keep track of my sin.
17My transgression would be sealed in a bag, and You would cover over my iniquity.
18But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place,
19as water wears away the stones and torrents wash away the soil, so You destroy a man’s hope.
20You forever overpower him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away.
21If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he is unaware.
22He feels only the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself.”
Berean Standard Bible
Job says a man born of woman is short-lived and full of trouble, like a flower that withers or a shadow that does not last. He asks why God brings a human being into judgment and wonders whether anyone can be clean from something unclean.
He compares a person to a tree. If the tree is cut down, it may sprout again when water reaches its roots, while a person lies down and does not rise. Job sees the difference between nature's repeated renewal and human mortality, and the contrast deepens his grief.
Job wishes that God would hide him in Sheol until His anger passes, then remember him. He asks whether a person who dies will live again and says he would wait all his days for relief if God called him. The question is a longing, not a simple declaration of settled doctrine.
He imagines God preserving his iniquity and sealing it in a bag, while a mountain falls and a rock moves. Human hope seems buried under decay. Job ends by saying that a person's children may receive honor or be brought low without him knowing, while his own flesh feels pain and his soul mourns.
Questions
1 What is human life compared to?
AnswerIt is compared to a short-lived flower and a passing shadow.
2 What hope does a tree have?
AnswerA cut tree may sprout again when water reaches its roots.
3 What does Job wish God would do?
AnswerHe wishes God would hide him in Sheol until His anger passed and then remember him.
4 What question does Job ask?
AnswerHe asks whether a person who dies will live again.
What This Means for Us
Job's question about life after death rises from grief, not curiosity. The passage gives language to the ache of wanting a future when the present body and life feel temporary.
Do not force a grieving person to turn a question into a confident answer. Sometimes hope begins as the courage to ask God whether the story can continue.
Prayer
God of life, hear those who feel brief, fragile, and forgotten. Meet them in their questions, hold their grief with care, and give them hope that does not shame them for longing. Amen.