Job 17:14
New International Version
if I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’

New Living Translation
What if I call the grave my father, and the maggot my mother or my sister?

English Standard Version
if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’

Berean Standard Bible
and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’

King James Bible
I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.

New King James Version
If I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ And to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’

New American Standard Bible
If I call to the grave, ‘You are my father’; To the maggot, ‘my mother and my sister’;

NASB 1995
If I call to the pit, ‘You are my father’ To the worm, ‘my mother and my sister’

NASB 1977
If I call to the pit, ‘You are my father’; To the worm, ‘my mother and my sister’;

Legacy Standard Bible
If I call to the pit, ‘You are my father’; To the worm, ‘my mother and my sister’;

Amplified Bible
If I call out to the pit (grave), ‘You are my father’; And to the worm [that feeds on decay], ‘You are my mother and my sister [because I will soon be closest to you],’

Christian Standard Bible
and say to corruption, “You are my father,” and to the maggot, “My mother” or “My sister,”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
and say to corruption: You are my father, and to the maggot: My mother or my sister,

American Standard Version
If I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; To the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister;

Contemporary English Version
Then I could greet the grave as my father and say to the worms, "Hello, mother and sisters!"

English Revised Version
If I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
if I say to the pit, 'You are my father,' and to the worm, 'You are my mother and sister,'

Good News Translation
I will call the grave my father, and the worms that eat me I will call my mother and my sisters.

International Standard Version
if I call out to the Pit, 'You're my father!' or say to the worm, 'My mother!' or 'My sister!'

Majority Standard Bible
and say to corruption, ?You are my father,? and to the worm, ?My mother,? or ?My sister,?

NET Bible
If I cry to corruption, 'You are my father,' and to the worm, 'My Mother,' or 'My sister,'

New Heart English Bible
If I have said to corruption, 'You are my father;' to the worm, 'My mother,' and 'my sister;'

Webster's Bible Translation
I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.

World English Bible
if I have said to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ and ‘My sister,’
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
To corruption I have called: You [are] my father. To the worm: My mother and my sister.

Young's Literal Translation
To corruption I have called: -- 'Thou art my father.' 'My mother' and 'my sister' -- to the worm.

Smith's Literal Translation
I called to the pit: Grave, thou my father: and to the worm, My mother, and my sister.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
If I have said to rottenness: Thou art my father; to worms, my mother and my sister.

Catholic Public Domain Version
I have said to decay and to worms: “You are my father, my mother, and my sister.”

New American Bible
If I am to say to the pit, “You are my father,” and to the worm “my mother,” “my sister,”

New Revised Standard Version
if I say to the Pit, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
I have said to corruption, You are my father; to the worm, You are my mother and my sister.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
To destruction I cried to the worm: ‘you are my father!’, and ‘my mother and my sister!’
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
If I have said to corruption: 'Thou art my father', To the worm: 'Thou art my mother, and my sister';

Brenton Septuagint Translation
I have called upon death to be my father, and corruption to be my mother and sister.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job Prepares for Death
13If I look for Sheol as my home, if I spread out my bed in darkness, 14and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’ 15where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?…

Cross References
Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

Psalm 22:15
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death.

Ecclesiastes 12:7
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

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.

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.

Psalm 30:9
“What gain is there in my bloodshed, in my descent to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?

Psalm 49:14
Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.

Psalm 88:4-5
I am counted among those descending to the Pit. I am like a man without strength. / I am forsaken among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, who are cut off from Your care.

Psalm 103:14
For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust.

Isaiah 38:18
For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.

Matthew 8:22
But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Matthew 23:27
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

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.

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 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Treasury of Scripture

I have said to corruption, You are my father: to the worm, You are my mother, and my sister.

said.

Job 21:32,33
Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb…

Psalm 16:10
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Psalm 49:9
That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

to the worm

Job 19:26
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Job 24:20
The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.

Isaiah 14:11
Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

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Corruption Cry Earth Grave Mother Pit Sister Worm
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Corruption Cry Earth Grave Mother Pit Sister Worm
Job 17
1. Job appeals from men to God
6. The unmerciful dealing of men with the afflicted may astonish,
9. but not discourage the righteous
11. His hope is not in life, but in death














I call
The phrase "I call" indicates an intentional declaration or acknowledgment by Job. In the Hebrew text, the verb used here is "קָרָא" (qara), which means to call out, proclaim, or name. This reflects Job's conscious decision to confront his dire circumstances. In the context of Job's suffering, this calling is not just a passive acceptance but an active recognition of his reality. It shows Job's willingness to face the harshness of his situation head-on, a testament to his enduring faith and honesty before God.

corruption
The word "corruption" in Hebrew is "שַׁחַת" (shachat), which can mean pit, destruction, or decay. This term is often associated with the grave or the process of decay after death. Job's use of this word highlights his perception of his own mortality and the inevitability of death. In the broader biblical context, corruption is often contrasted with the incorruptible nature of God, emphasizing the transient nature of human life and the hope of resurrection and eternal life through faith.

my father
By referring to corruption as "my father," Job is expressing a profound sense of belonging or kinship with death and decay. In ancient Near Eastern culture, the father was a figure of authority and origin. Job's metaphorical language here suggests that he sees death as the source or inevitable end of his current suffering. This reflects the depth of his despair but also his understanding of the human condition, which is ultimately subject to the sovereignty of God.

and the worm
The "worm" is a symbol of decay and the process of decomposition. In Hebrew, the word is "רִמָּה" (rimmah), which is often used in the context of the grave. The imagery of worms consuming the body is a stark reminder of the physical reality of death. For Job, the worm represents the natural progression of life towards death, reinforcing the theme of human frailty and the need for divine intervention and redemption.

my mother and sister
By calling the worm "my mother and sister," Job uses familial terms to describe his relationship with death and decay. In Hebrew culture, the mother is a nurturing figure, while a sister is a close companion. This language suggests an intimate and unavoidable connection with the grave. Job's use of these terms underscores his isolation and the depth of his suffering, yet it also points to the hope that even in death, there is a familial bond that can be transformed by God's grace and power.

Verse 14. - I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; i.e. I do not murmur; I accept my lot; I am ready to lie down with corruption, and embrace it, and call it "my father," and henceforth remain with it. The idea that the soul is still with the body in the grave, more or less closely attached to it, and sensible of its condition and changes, was widely prevalent in the ancient world. Where bodies were simply buried, the horrible imagination of a close association with corruption naturally and almost necessarily intruded itself, and led to such reflections as those of Job in this verse. It was partly to get rid of this terrible nightmare that the Egyptians were so careful to embalm the bodies of their dead, and that the Babylonians deposited them in baked clay coffins, which they filled with honey (Herod., 1:198); while others still more effectually prevented the process of corruption by cremation. The modern revival of cremation is remarkable as indicating a peculiar form of atavism or recurrence to ancient types. For many ages after the coming of Christ, men so separated between the soul and the body after death that the corruption of the grave had no horror for them. Now materialistic ideas have so far recurred, that many of those who believe the soul to live on after death are doubtful whether it may not still be attached to the body more or less, end, dreading contact with the corruption, of the latter, fall back upon the old remedy. To the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister. An expansion of the idea contained in the previous clause.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
and say
קָ֭רָאתִי (qā·rā·ṯî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7121: To call, proclaim, read

to corruption,
לַשַּׁ֣חַת (laš·ša·ḥaṯ)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7845: A pit, destruction

‘You [are]
אָ֑תָּה (’āt·tāh)
Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

my father,’
אָ֣בִי (’ā·ḇî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1: Father

and to the worm,
לָֽרִמָּֽה׃ (lā·rim·māh)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7415: A maggot

‘My mother,’
אִמִּ֥י (’im·mî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 517: A mother, )

or ‘My sister,’
וַ֝אֲחֹתִ֗י (wa·’ă·ḥō·ṯî)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 269: Sister -- a sister


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OT Poetry: Job 17:14 If I have said to corruption 'You (Jb)
Job 17:13
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