Table of Contents
Job 14
Job 14
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 doth 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 mountains 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.
Notes
Cross Reference
Concordance
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 3
<html><b>also on this one</b> [creature of] futility that decays have You opened Your eyes to be exact with his sins, and You bring me into judgment for my iniquities?</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>Who can bring a clean thing</b> from a putrid drop, and semen, which is unclean? Not one of them is clean, that he should not sin.</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>If his days are limited</b> If he is requited with this recompense—that his days are limited to a day set for death, and the number of months is set with You, and [that] You set this boundary—and he will no longer exist in the world, [then] this payment is sufficient for You.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>Turn away from him</b> during those few limited days and let him rest from pain until he desires, in his old age and the weakness of his strength, the day of his death like a hireling who desires the completion of his day’s work; for his passing from the world is decided and more definite than all passings.</html>
Verse 7
<html><b>a tree has</b> This [tree] has hope that it will renew itself and its bough will not cease from being a branch.</html>
Verse 9
<html><b>and it will produce a branch</b> Heb. קציר. This is a branch, as (Ps. 80:12), “She sent out her boughs (קצירה) to the sea.” <b>a sapling</b> Heb. נטע. This is a noun. It is accented on the first syllable, and is punctuated completely with a “kamatz” because it is the end of the verse, but it is derived from נֶטַע, a sapling.</html>
Verse 11
<html><b>As the waters fail from the sea</b> From the place whence the river comes and emerges, from its source that comes to it from the sea. [Alternative explanation of Rashi: From the place whence the river comes, and they went away from its source (from) which (the water) comes to it.] <b>and the river</b> that comes from there is drained dry forever. So does a man lie down and not rise.</html>
Verse 14
<html><b>All the days of my lifespan, I will hope</b> for life.</html>
Verse 15
<html><b>Call</b> This is a supplication. Call to me and I will answer you to prove my case. <b>You desire</b> Heb. תִכְסֹף, You desire.</html>
Verse 16
<html><b>But now</b> You are harming me. <b>my steps</b> You are counting. <b>You do not wait</b> Heb. תשמר. You do not wait for my sin to requite me, as (Gen. 37:11), “but his father awaited (שמר) the matter,” and in the language of the Mishnah (Sanh. 63b): “A person may not say to his companion, ‘Wait (שמר) for me beside such and such a pagan deity.’” [It is] an expression of waiting.</html>
Verse 17
<html><b>sealed up in a bundle</b> Sealed and preserved in a cloth bundle like silver and pearls, lest it be lost. <b>and You have attached Yourself to my iniquity</b> Heb. ותטפל, You have attached Yourself to my iniquity.</html>
Verse 18
<html><b>And surely the falling mountain gives forth produce</b> The height of a falling mountain will give forth produce. It will produce dust, and there will be hope of deriving benefit from it. <b>and the rock</b> that moves from its place will also give forth produce. This is an expression of grain.</html>
Verse 19
<html><b>Stones</b> which <b>the water eroded</b> by constantly passing over them. <b>it washes away</b> i.e., the flood. <b>its aftergrowth</b> of the stone, to be transformed into dust so that something should grow in it. As the aftergrowths of the harvest grow, so will the aftergrowths of this earth be transformed to stone. <b>but the hope of man</b> is not so, because as soon as he dies, it is lost forever.</html>
Verse 20
<html><b>You overpower him</b> You are stronger than he; You overcome him with Your power, and he goes away from the world.</html>
Verse 21
<html><b>become wealthy</b> Heb. יכבדו, lit. they will become heavy. They will become heavy with silver and gold, but he will not know. <b>and they become poor</b> And they have little of any good, but he will not understand it.</html>
Verse 22
<html><b>But his flesh causes him pain</b> A worm is as painful to the dead as a needle in the flesh of the living.</html>