Job 14:12
New International Version
so he lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, people will not awake or be roused from their sleep.

New Living Translation
people are laid to rest and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up nor be roused from their sleep.

English Standard Version
so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep.

Berean Standard Bible
so a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no more, he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.

King James Bible
So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

New King James Version
So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep.

New American Standard Bible
So a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens no longer exist, He will not awake nor be woken from his sleep.

NASB 1995
So man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no longer, He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep.

NASB 1977
So man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens be no more, He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep.

Legacy Standard Bible
So man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no longer, He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep.

Amplified Bible
So man lies down and does not rise [again]. Until the heavens are no longer, The dead will not awake nor be raised from their sleep.

Christian Standard Bible
so people lie down never to rise again. They will not wake up until the heavens are no more; they will not stir from their sleep.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
so man lies down never to rise again. They will not wake up until the heavens are no more; they will not stir from their sleep.

American Standard Version
So man lieth down and riseth not: Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, Nor be roused out of their sleep.

Contemporary English Version
we fall into the sleep of death, never to rise again, until the sky disappears.

English Revised Version
So man lieth down and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
so each person lies down and does not rise until the heavens cease to exist. He does not wake up. He is not awakened from his sleep.

Good News Translation
people die, never to rise. They will never wake up while the sky endures; they will never stir from their sleep.

International Standard Version
so also a person lies down and does not get up; they won't awaken until the heavens are no more, nor will they arise from their sleep."

Majority Standard Bible
so a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no more, he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.

NET Bible
so man lies down and does not rise; until the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor arise from their sleep.

New Heart English Bible
so man lies down and doesn't rise. Until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep.

Webster's Bible Translation
So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens shall be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

World English Bible
so man lies down and doesn’t rise. Until the heavens are no more, they will not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And man has lain down, and does not rise, "" Until the wearing out of the heavens they do not awaken, "" Nor are roused from their sleep.

Young's Literal Translation
And man hath lain down, and riseth not, Till the wearing out of the heavens they awake not, Nor are roused from their sleep.

Smith's Literal Translation
And man lay down and he will not rise: till the heavens be no more they shall not awake and rise from their sleep.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
So man when he is fallen asleep shall not rise again; till the heavens be broken, he shall not awake, nor rise up out of his sleep.

Catholic Public Domain Version
just so, when a man is fallen asleep, he will not rise again, until the heavens are worn away; he will not awaken, nor rise from his sleep.

New American Bible
So mortals lie down, never to rise. Until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep.

New Revised Standard Version
so mortals lie down and do not rise again; until the heavens are no more, they will not awake or be roused out of their sleep.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
So man who lies down does not rise again; until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And a man who falls asleep does not rise until the Heavens wear out; they will not be awakened and they do not break out from their sleep
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
So man lieth down and riseth not; Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, Nor be roused out of their sleep.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And man that has lain down in death shall certainly not rise again till the heaven be dissolved, and they shall not awake from their sleep.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job Laments the Finality of Death
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!…

Cross References
1 Corinthians 15:20-22
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. / For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. / For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-16
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. / By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. / For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.

Daniel 12:2
And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.

John 5:28-29
Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice / and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— / in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

Isaiah 26:19
Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.

John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. / And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Romans 8:11
And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

Ezekiel 37:12-14
Therefore prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O My people, I will open your graves and bring you up from them, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. / Then you, My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. / I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.’”

Revelation 20:12-13
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books. / The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds.

Matthew 22:31-32
But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: / ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

1 Corinthians 15:42-44
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. / It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. / It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Philippians 3:20-21
But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, / who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.

Luke 20:35-36
But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. / In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.

John 6:39-40
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. / For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”


Treasury of Scripture

So man lies down, and rises not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

So man

Job 10:21,22
Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; …

Job 30:23
For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.

Ecclesiastes 3:19-21
For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity…

till the heavens

Job 19:25-27
For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: …

Psalm 102:26
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:

Isaiah 51:6
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

awake

Job 3:13
For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

Job 7:21
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

Isaiah 26:19
Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

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Aroused Awake Goes Heavens Last Lies Raised Resting-Place Rise Rises Riseth Roused Sleep Wearing
Job 14
1. Job entreats God for favor, by the shortness of life, and certainty of death
7. He waits for his change
16. By sin the creature is subject to corruption














so man lies down
The phrase "lies down" in Hebrew is "שָׁכַב" (shakab), which often refers to the act of lying down in death. In the context of Job, this phrase underscores the inevitability of death for all humanity. It reflects the somber reality that life is transient and that death is a common destiny. This imagery of lying down suggests a finality, a rest from the toils and struggles of life, which is a recurring theme in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament.

and does not rise
The Hebrew word for "rise" is "קוּם" (qum), which means to stand up or to arise. In this context, it emphasizes the permanence of death from a human perspective. Job is expressing a deep sense of hopelessness, as he perceives death as an irreversible state. This reflects the ancient Near Eastern understanding of death as a one-way journey, a sentiment that is echoed in other parts of the Old Testament.

Until the heavens are no more
This phrase suggests an eschatological perspective, pointing to a time when the current order of creation will cease to exist. The heavens, in biblical terms, often represent the established order and the divine realm. Job is using hyperbolic language to express the permanence of death, implying that only a cosmic event of unimaginable magnitude could reverse it. This reflects the ancient belief in the stability and permanence of the heavens, which were seen as enduring and unchanging.

he will not awake
The word "awake" in Hebrew is "עָרוּץ" (arutz), which conveys the idea of waking from sleep. In the context of death, it suggests the impossibility of returning to life. Job is lamenting the finality of death, using the metaphor of sleep to describe the state of the dead. This metaphor is common in biblical literature, where death is often depicted as a deep sleep from which there is no awakening without divine intervention.

or be roused from his sleep
The term "roused" in Hebrew is "עוּר" (ur), which means to be awakened or stirred. This reinforces the idea that death is a state of inactivity and unconsciousness. Job's use of the sleep metaphor highlights the helplessness of humanity in the face of death. It underscores the need for divine action to overcome the power of death, a theme that finds its ultimate resolution in the New Testament with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Verse 12. - So man lieth down, and riseth not. This is not an absolute denial of a final resurrection, since Job is speaking of the world as it lies before him, not of eventualities. Just as he sees the land encroach upon the sea, and remain land, and the river-courses, once dried up, remain dry, so he sees men descend into the grave and remain there, without rising up again. This is the established order of nature as it exists before his eyes. Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake. This order of things, Job believes, rightly enough, will continue as long as the heavens and the earth endure. What will happen afterwards he does not so much as inquire. It is remarked, ingeniously, that Job's words, though not intended in this sense, exactly "coincide with the declarations of the New Testament, which make the resurrection simultaneous with the breaking up of the visible universe" (Canon Cook). Nor be raised out of their sleep. If "the glimmer of a hope" of the resurrection appears anywhere in vers. 10-12, it is in the comparison of death to a sleep, which is inseparably connected in our minds with an awakening.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
so man
וְאִ֥ישׁ (wə·’îš)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

lies down
שָׁכַ֗ב (šā·ḵaḇ)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7901: To lie down

and does not
וְֽלֹא־ (wə·lō-)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

rise.
יָ֫ק֥וּם (yā·qūm)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6965: To arise, stand up, stand

Until
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

the heavens
שָׁ֭מַיִם (ma·yim)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8064: Heaven, sky

are no more,
בִּלְתִּ֣י (bil·tî)
Preposition
Strong's 1115: A failure of, not, except, without, unless, besides, because not, until

he will not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

be awakened
יָקִ֑יצוּ (yā·qî·ṣū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6974: Arise, be awake, watch

[or]
וְלֹֽא־ (wə·lō-)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

roused
יֵ֝עֹ֗רוּ (yê·‘ō·rū)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5782: To rouse oneself, awake

from his sleep.
מִשְּׁנָתָֽם׃ (miš·šə·nā·ṯām)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 8142: Sleep


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OT Poetry: Job 14:12 So man lies down and doesn't rise (Jb)
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