Job 14:1-9 ▼

1 “Man, who is born of a woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil.

2 “Like a flower he comes forth and withers; He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.

3 “You also open Your eyes upon him And bring him into judgment with Yourself.

4 “Who can make a clean thing out of the unclean? No one!

5 “Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You [in Your control], And You have made his limits so he cannot pass [his allotted time].

6 “[O God] turn your gaze from him so that he may rest, Until he fulfills his day [on earth] like a hired man.

7 “For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And that the shoots of it will not cease nor fail, [but there is no such hope for man].

8 “Though its roots grow old in the earth And its stump dies in the dry soil,

9 Yet at the scent of water [the stump of the tree] will flourish And bring forth sprigs and shoots like a seedling.