Job Chapter 14

Job Considers the Grave and the Afterlife

A. Frail man and a mighty God.

1. (Job 14:1–2) Job muses on the frailty of man.

“Man that is born of a woman
is of few days, and full of trouble.
He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down:
he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.” (Job 14:1–2, KJV)

a. Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble: Job steps back from his personal suffering and reflects on the universal condition of humanity. Human life, by its very nature, is short and burdened with sorrow. Trouble is not an exception but a defining feature of earthly existence. Job is not claiming that every man suffers as intensely as he has, but that suffering is woven into the fabric of fallen human life. His words echo the reality that weakness, pain, and limitation accompany man from birth.

b. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: Job uses natural imagery to emphasize how brief and fragile human life is. A flower blooms briefly, displaying beauty and vitality, only to wither and be cut down. Man’s strength and vigor are similarly temporary. No matter how impressive life appears in its prime, it is always moving toward decline.

c. He fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not: Job deepens the imagery by describing man as a shadow, something that has no substance and cannot be grasped. A shadow moves quickly and disappears without leaving a trace. Job’s words express not only brevity but instability. Life does not merely end, it slips away. This reflection naturally leads Job to ponder whether life truly continues after death or simply fades into nothing, a question that will occupy much of the rest of the chapter.

2. (Job 14:3–6) Job’s prayer, “Consider how frail man is and have mercy on him.”

“And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one,
and bringest me into judgment with thee?
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
Seeing his days are determined,
the number of his months are with thee,
thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
Turn from him, that he may rest,
till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.” (Job 14:3–6, KJV)

a. And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one: Job applies his meditation directly to God. If man is so frail, fleeting, and weak, Job wonders why God would scrutinize him so closely and bring him into judgment. The question is not irreverent but anguished. Job feels overwhelmed by the idea that an infinite and holy God would focus His judicial attention on a creature so small and broken. His plea is essentially for mercy grounded in human weakness.

b. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean, not one: Job openly confesses the reality of human impurity. He does not claim moral perfection or inherent righteousness. Instead, he acknowledges that fallen humanity cannot produce perfect cleanness from its own nature. This statement directly contradicts the accusation that Job claimed sinless purity. He recognizes that uncleanness is universal, inherited, and unavoidable. His despair arises from the fear that God may be demanding from him what no man can produce.

c. Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee: Job affirms God’s sovereignty even in his distress. Human life is not random or uncontrolled. God has already determined its length. Every day and month is known to Him. This recognition cuts both ways. It affirms God’s authority, but it also deepens Job’s plea, since God fully understands how limited and short human life truly is.

d. Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass: Job again returns to the image of restriction. Man’s life is fenced in by God’s decree. There is no escaping mortality or extending life beyond the boundaries God has set. Job does not accuse God of injustice here, but he does appeal to God’s compassion, arguing that such tightly bound creatures deserve mercy rather than relentless scrutiny.

e. Turn from him, that he may rest: Job’s request is not for abandonment but for relief. He asks God to turn His gaze away temporarily so that the afflicted man might find rest. The image is not of rebellion but exhaustion. Job feels that constant divine attention has become unbearable in his weakened state.

f. Till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day: Job compares human life to that of a hired laborer. A hired man works until the end of the day and then rests. Job asks for the same dignity. If life must be hard and brief, then let it at least be allowed to run its course without relentless judgment. This reflects Job’s longing for peace, not escape, and rest, not defiance.

B. Job’s meditation of what lies beyond this life.

1. (Job 14:7–12) Job considers the idea that man does not live beyond the grave.

“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.
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth,
and the stock thereof die in the ground;
Yet through the scent of water it will bud,
and bring forth boughs like a plant.
But man dieth, and wasteth away:
yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
As the waters fail from the sea,
and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
So man lieth down, and riseth not:
till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake,
nor be raised out of their sleep.” (Job 14:7–12, KJV)

a. For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down: Job observes something almost paradoxical in creation. A tree, even when cut down, still possesses hope. Its stump may appear lifeless, yet at the scent of water it can spring back to life and produce new branches. Job points to a kind of natural resurrection built into the created order. Life can re emerge from what appears dead. This observation deepens Job’s struggle, because it raises a painful question about humanity’s fate.

b. But man dieth, and wasteth away: In contrast to the tree, Job sees no such obvious renewal for man. When a man dies, he wastes away and disappears from human experience. Job asks the haunting question, “Where is he?” From Job’s vantage point, death looks final and irreversible. This sense of disappearance weighs heavily on him. If a tree enjoys renewal, why should man, the highest of God’s earthly creatures, seem to have less hope than a plant?

c. So man lieth down, and riseth not: Job gives voice to the limited and shadowed understanding of the afterlife common in his era. He describes death as a sleep from which man does not awaken, at least not within the bounds of the present world order. His words express despair, not doctrine. Job is speaking honestly from observation, not revelation. At this point, resurrection hope is dim and uncertain in his mind.

Job’s statement reflects genuine confusion, not settled theology. Scripture later reveals that fuller understanding of life beyond death would come through divine revelation, not human reasoning. Job’s words are true in the sense that they accurately record what he thought and felt, even if his conclusions about the afterlife were incomplete.

2. (Job 14:13–17) Job longs for the grave and hopes for something beyond.

“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!
If a man die, shall he live again?
all the days of my appointed time will I wait,
till my change come.
Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee:
thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
For now thou numberest my steps:
dost thou not watch over my sin?
My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
and thou sewest up mine iniquity.” (Job 14:13–17, KJV)

a. O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave: Job expresses a surprising longing. The grave, which earlier seemed like a place of disappearance, now appears as a refuge. He imagines Sheol as a place where he might be hidden until God’s wrath passes. Job is not expressing suicidal despair, but a desperate desire for relief. If God’s anger must run its course, Job hopes it might do so while he is concealed in death rather than crushed in life.

b. If a man die, shall he live again: This question stands at the emotional and theological center of the chapter. Job does not answer it confidently. Instead, he asks it in hope and uncertainty. The question itself reveals that Job senses the possibility of life beyond death, even if he cannot articulate it clearly. His suffering drives him to wrestle with the deepest human question, whether death is truly the end.

c. All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come: Job introduces the idea of a future change. Death, in his mind, may not be final destruction but a transition. He imagines himself waiting for something beyond, a transformation that would end his misery. This is not yet a fully developed doctrine of resurrection, but it is a genuine seed of hope planted in the darkness of despair.

d. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: Job imagines restored relationship beyond death. He envisions God calling him and himself answering, suggesting renewed communion and reconciliation. This is striking, because earlier Job felt that God had become his enemy. Now, even amid uncertainty, he hopes for a future in which God desires the work of His hands and restores fellowship.

e. Thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands: Job appeals to God as Creator. He reasons that God would not permanently abandon what He has made. Man is not a disposable creation. Job senses that God’s creative purpose implies future restoration. Though Job lacks clarity, his instinct is sound. He believes God’s relationship with man is not exhausted by death.

f. My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity: Job again affirms that he is not denying sin. He acknowledges transgression, but he hopes for mercy rather than relentless judgment. The image of sin being sealed suggests restraint, not denial. Job longs for a time when God will no longer watch over his sin in judgment but will cover it, restraining its consequences.

This statement also answers his friends. Job knows he is a sinner, but he refuses to accept that his suffering is a direct accounting of every past failure. He entrusts his sin to God’s keeping, believing that divine mercy must ultimately prevail over relentless accusation.

3. (Job 14:18–22) Job considers the limitless power of God and despairs.

“And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought,
and the rock is removed out of his place.
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.
Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth:
thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not;
and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
But his flesh upon him shall have pain,
and his soul within him shall mourn.” (Job 14:18–22, KJV)

a. And thou destroyest the hope of man: Job returns to the imagery of irresistible natural forces. Mountains collapse, rocks are displaced, stones are worn down by water, and soil is swept away by torrents. These are slow, relentless processes that nothing resists. Job applies this imagery to human existence under God’s power. When God acts against a man, human hope appears as fragile as earth before a flood. From Job’s vantage point, God’s power seems not only overwhelming but final. God prevails forever against man, and man passes on. Job feels that no argument, endurance, or righteousness can stand against such power.

It is important to see that this despair does not cancel Job’s earlier hope. Within this same chapter, Job expressed a remarkable longing for life beyond death and a future calling from God. The structure of Job’s speech is not a linear philosophical argument but a poetic outpouring of anguish. Hope and despair stand side by side. Job speaks honestly from within the tension, not from settled conclusions.

b. Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: Job feels that once God sets Himself against a man, the outcome is inevitable. Man’s countenance changes, his identity fades, and he is sent away from the land of the living. This reflects Job’s sense of being overwhelmed by forces beyond appeal. He does not deny God’s justice here, but he feels crushed by God’s apparent finality.

c. His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not: Job reflects on the tragedy of death’s separation. A man who has died no longer knows what happens in the world he left behind. Whether his children rise to honor or fall into disgrace, he does not perceive it. For Job, this deepens the sorrow. Life’s outcomes continue, but the one who labored, loved, and suffered is cut off from knowing them. This sense of disconnection intensifies Job’s grief and contributes to his despair about the afterlife.

d. But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn: Job concludes with a profoundly human image. Whether this refers to the dying process or to the inner anguish of a man approaching death, the emphasis is on suffering that reaches both body and soul. Job’s pain is not merely physical, nor merely emotional. It encompasses his entire being. His speech ends not with resolution, but with mourning.

This conclusion fits the tone of the chapter. Job is not delivering systematic theology. He is voicing what it feels like to live under immense suffering without full revelation. His words are honest, raw, and unresolved. Scripture records these words not as final truth about the afterlife, but as the true experience of a righteous man in deep affliction.

It would be a mistake to judge Job as unspiritual for these expressions. Later in the book, God Himself acknowledges Job’s integrity while correcting his limited understanding. Job’s despair is real, but it is not the whole story. There is a truth beyond his feelings that Job cannot yet see. That truth will eventually be revealed, but here we are meant to sit with Job in the weight of unanswered questions and genuine grief.