Teks -- Job 14:12-22 (NET)

14:12 so man lies down and does not rise; until the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor arise from their sleep.

The Possibility of Another Life

14:13 “O that you would hide me in Sheol, and conceal me till your anger has passed! O that you would set me a time and then remember me! 14:14 If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait until my release comes. 14:15 You will call and I– I will answer you; you will long for the creature you have made.

The Present Condition

14:16 “Surely now you count my steps; then you would not mark my sin. 14:17 My offenses would be sealed up in a bag; you would cover over my sin. 14:18 But as a mountain falls away and crumbles, and as a rock will be removed from its place, 14:19 as water wears away stones, and torrents wash away the soil, so you destroy man’s hope. 14:20 You overpower him once for all, and he departs; you change his appearance and send him away. 14:21 If his sons are honored, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he does not see it. 14:22 Only his flesh has pain for himself, and he mourns for himself.”

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Job 14:12 - Lieth

In his bed, the grave.

Wesley: Job 14:12 - 'Till

Until the time of the general resurrection, when these visible heavens shall pass away.

Wesley: Job 14:13 - The grave

The grave is not only a resting - place, but an hiding - place to the children of God. He hides them in the grave, as we hide our treasure in a place of secrecy and safety. Hide me there, not only from the storms of this life, but for the glory of a better.

Wesley: Job 14:13 - Until thy wrath be past

As long as our bodies lie in the grave, there are some fruits of God's wrath against sin: until the set time comes, for their being remembered, as Noah was remembered in the ark, Gen 8:1. Our bodies shall not be forgotten in the grave, there is a time set for their being enquired after.

Wesley: Job 14:14 - Shall he live?

He shall not in this world. Therefore I will patiently wait 'till that change comes, which will put a period to my calamities.

Wesley: Job 14:15 - Answer thee

Thou shalt call my soul to thyself: and I will chearfully answer, Here I am: knowing thou wilt have a desire to the work of thy hands - A love for the soul which thou hast made, and new - made by thy grace.

Wesley: Job 14:16 - Numbereth

Thou makest a strict enquiry into all my actions.

Wesley: Job 14:17 - Sealed

As writings or other choice things, that they may all be brought forth upon occasion, and not one of them forgotten. Thou keepest all my sins in thy memory. But herein Job speaks rashly.

Wesley: Job 14:18 - And

As when a great mountain falls, by an earthquake or inundation, it moulders away like a fading leaf, (as the Hebrew word signifies) and as the rock, when by the violence of winds or earthquakes it is removed out of its place, and thrown down, is never re - advanced: and as the waters by continual droppings, wear away the stones, so that they can never be made whole again: and as thou wastest away, by a great and violent inundation, the things which grow out of the dust of the earth, herbs, and fruits, and plants, which once washed away are irrecoverably lost; in like manner, thou destroyest the hope of man: when man dies, all hope of his living again in this world is lost.

Wesley: Job 14:20 - Prevailest

When once thou takest away this life, it is gone forever.

Wesley: Job 14:20 - Sendest

To his long home.

Wesley: Job 14:21 - Knoweth not

Either is ignorant of all such events: or, is not concerned or affected with them. A dead or dying man minds not these things.

JFB: Job 14:12 - heavens be no more

This only implies that Job had no hope of living again in the present order of the world, not that he had no hope of life again in a new order of things. Psa 102:26 proves that early under the Old Testament the dissolution of the present earth and heavens was expected (compare Gen 8:22). Enoch before Job had implied that the "saints shall live again" (Jud 1:14; Heb 11:13-16). Even if, by this phrase, Job meant "never" (Psa 89:29) in his gloomier state of feelings, yet the Holy Ghost has made him unconsciously (1Pe 1:11-12) use language expressing the truth, that the resurrection is to be preceded by the dissolution of the heavens. In Job 14:13-15 he plainly passes to brighter hopes of a world to come.

JFB: Job 14:13

Job wishes to be kept hidden in the grave until God's wrath against him shall have passed away. So while God's wrath is visiting the earth for the abounding apostasy which is to precede the second coming, God's people shall be hidden against the resurrection glory (Isa 26:19-21).

JFB: Job 14:13 - set time

A decreed time (Act 1:7).

JFB: Job 14:14 - shall he live?

The answer implied is, There is a hope that he shall, though not in the present order of life, as is shown by the words following. Job had denied (Job 14:10-12) that man shall live again in this present world. But hoping for a "set time," when God shall remember and raise him out of the hiding-place of the grave (Job 14:13), he declares himself willing to "wait all the days of his appointed time" of continuance in the grave, however long and hard that may be.

JFB: Job 14:14 - appointed time

Literally, "warfare, hard service"; imlying the hardship of being shut out from the realms of life, light, and God for the time he shall be in the grave (Job 7:1).

JFB: Job 14:14 - change

My release, as a soldier at his post released from duty by the relieving guard (see on Job 10:17) [UMBREIT and GESENIUS], but elsewhere GESENIUS explains it, "renovation," as of plants in spring (Job 14:7), but this does not accord so well with the metaphor in "appointed time" or "warfare."

JFB: Job 14:15

Namely, at the resurrection (Joh 5:28; Psa 17:15).

JFB: Job 14:15 - have a desire to

Literally, "become pale with anxious desire:" the same word is translated "sore longedst after" (Gen 31:30; Psa 84:2), implying the utter unlikelihood that God would leave in oblivion the "creature of His own hands so fearfully and wonderfully made." It is objected that if Job knew of a future retribution, he would make it the leading topic in solving the problem of the permitted afflictions of the righteous. But, (1) He did not intend to exceed the limits of what was clearly revealed; the doctrine was then in a vague form only; (2) The doctrine of God's moral government in this life, even independently of the future, needed vindication.

JFB: Job 14:16

Rather, "Yea, thou wilt number my steps, and wilt not (as now) jealously watch over my sin." Thenceforward, instead of severe watching for every sin of Job, God will guard him against every sin.

JFB: Job 14:16 - number . . . steps

That is, minutely attend to them, that they may not wander [UMBREIT] (1Sa 2:9; Psa 37:23).

JFB: Job 14:17 - sealed up

(Job 9:7). Is shut up in eternal oblivion, that is, God thenceforth will think no more of my former sins. To cover sins is to completely forgive them (Psa 32:1; Psa 85:2). Purses of money in the East are usually sealed.

JFB: Job 14:17 - sewest up

Rather, "coverest"; akin to an Arabic word, "to color over," to forget wholly.

JFB: Job 14:18 - cometh to naught

Literally, "fadeth"; a poetical image from a leaf (Isa 34:4). Here Job falls back into his gloomy bodings as to the grave. Instead of "and surely," translate "yet"; marking the transition from his brighter hopes. Even the solid mountain falls and crumbles away; man therefore cannot "hope" to escape decay or to live again in the present world (Job 14:19).

JFB: Job 14:18 - out of his place

So man (Psa 103:16).

JFB: Job 14:19

The Hebrew order is more forcible: "Stones themselves are worn away by water."

JFB: Job 14:19 - things which grow out of

Rather, "floods wash away the dust of the earth." There is a gradation from "mountains" to "rocks" (Job 14:18), then "stones," then last "dust of the earth"; thus the solid mountain at last disappears utterly.

JFB: Job 14:20 - prevailest

Dost overpower by superior strength.

JFB: Job 14:20 - passeth

Dieth.

JFB: Job 14:20 - changest countenance

The change in the visage at death. Differently (Dan 5:9).

JFB: Job 14:21

One striking trait is selected from the sad picture of the severance of the dead from all that passes in the world (Ecc 9:5), namely, the utter separation of parents and children.

JFB: Job 14:22

"Flesh" and "soul" describe the whole man. Scripture rests the hope of a future life, not on the inherent immortality of the soul, but on the restoration of the body with the soul. In the unseen world, Job in a gloomy frame anticipates, man shall be limited to the thought of his own misery. "Pain is by personification, from our feelings while alive, attributed to the flesh and soul, as if the man could feel in his body when dead. It is the dead in general, not the wicked, who are meant here."

Clarke: Job 14:12 - So man lieth down

So man lieth down - He falls asleep in his bed of earth

Clarke: Job 14:12 - And riseth not

And riseth not - Men shall not, like cut down trees and plants, reproduce their like; nor shall they arise till the heavens are no more, till the earth and all its works are burnt up, and the general resurrection of human beings shall take place. Surely it would be difficult to twist this passage to the denial of the resurrection of the body. Neither can these expressions be fairly understood as implying Job’ s belief in the materiality of the soul, and that the whole man sleeps from the day of his death to the morning of the resurrection. We have already seen that Job makes a distinction between the animal life and rational soul in man; and it is most certain that the doctrine of the materiality of the soul, and its sleep till the resurrection, has no place in the sacred records. There is a most beautiful passage to the same purpose, and with the same imagery, in Moschus’ s epitaph on the death of Bion: -

Αι, αι ται μαλαχαι μεν επαν κατα καπον ολωνται

Η τα χλωρα σελινα, το τ ’ ευθαλες ουλον ανηθον

Ὑστερον αυ ζωοντι, και εις ετος αλλο φυοντι·

Αμμες δ ’ , οἱ μεγαλοι, και καρτεροι, η σοφοι ανδρες

Ὁπποτε πρωτα θανωμες, ανακοοι εν χθονι κοιλα

Εὑδομες ευ μαλα μακρον, ατερμονα, νηγρετον ὑπνον

Idyll. iii., ver. 100

Alas! alas! the mallows, when they die

Or garden herbs, and sweet Anethum’ s pride

Blooming in vigor, wake again to life

And flourish beauteous through another year

But we, the great, the mighty, and the wise

When once we die, unknown in earth’ s dark wom

Sleep long and drear, the endless sleep of death

J. B. B. C

A more cold and comfortless philosophy was never invented. The next verse shows that Job did not entertain this view of the subject.

Clarke: Job 14:13 - O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave

O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave - Dreadful as death is to others, I shall esteem it a high privilege; it will be to me a covert from the wind and from the tempest of this affliction and distress

Clarke: Job 14:13 - Keep me secret

Keep me secret - Hide my soul with thyself, where my enemies cannot invade my repose; or, as the poet expresses it: -

"My spirit hide with saints above

My body in the tomb.

Job does not appear to have the same thing in view when he entreats God to hide him in the grave; and to keep him secret, until his wrath be past. The former relates to the body; the latter to the spirit

Clarke: Job 14:13 - That thou wouldest appoint me a set time

That thou wouldest appoint me a set time - As he had spoken of the death of his body before, and the secreting of his spirit in the invisible world, he must refer here to the resurrection; for what else can be said to be an object of desire to one whose body is mingled with the dust

Clarke: Job 14:13 - And remember me!

And remember me! - When my body has paid that debt of death which it owes to thy Divine justice, and the morning of the resurrection is come, when it may be said thy wrath, אפך appecha , "thy displeasure,"against the body is past, it having suffered the sentence denounced by thyself: Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die; then remember me - raise my body, unite my spirit to it, and receive both into thy glory for ever.

Clarke: Job 14:14 - If a man die, shall he live again?

If a man die, shall he live again? - The Chaldee translates, If a wicked man die, can he ever live again? or, he can never live again. The Syriac and Arabic thus: "If a man die, shall he revive? Yea, all the days of his youth he awaits till his old age come."The Septuagint: "If a man die, shall he live, having accomplished the days of his life? I will endure till I live again."Here is no doubt, but a strong persuasion, of the certainty of the general resurrection

Clarke: Job 14:14 - All the days of my appointed time

All the days of my appointed time - צבאי tsebai , "of my warfare;"see on Job 7:1 (note). Will I await till חליפתי chaliphathi , my renovation, come. This word is used to denote the springing again of grass, Psa 90:5, Psa 90:6, after it had once withered, which is in itself a very expressive emblem of the resurrection.

Clarke: Job 14:15 - Thou shalt call

Thou shalt call - Thou shalt say There shall be time no longer: Awake, ye dead! and come to judgment

Clarke: Job 14:15 - And I will answer thee

And I will answer thee - My dissolved frame shall be united at thy call; and body and soul shall be rejoined

Clarke: Job 14:15 - Thou wilt have a desire

Thou wilt have a desire - תכסף tichsoph , "Thou wilt pant with desire;"or, "Thou wilt yearn over the work of thy hands."God has subjected the creature to vanity, in hope; having determined the resurrection. Man is one of the noblest works of God. He has exhibited him as a master-piece of his creative skill, power, and goodness. Nothing less than the strongest call upon justice could have induced him thus to destroy the work of his hands. No wonder that he has an earnest desire towards it; and that although man dies, and is as water spilt upon the ground that cannot be gathered up again; yet doth he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him. Even God is represented as earnestly longing for the ultimate reviviscence of the sleeping dust. He cannot, he will not, forget the work of his hands.

Clarke: Job 14:16 - For now thou numberest my steps

For now thou numberest my steps - כי עתה ki attah , Although thou, etc. Though thou, by thy conduct towards me, seemest bent on my utter destruction, yet thou delightest in mercy, and I shall be saved.

Clarke: Job 14:17 - My transgression is sealed up in a bag

My transgression is sealed up in a bag - An allusion to the custom of collecting evidence of state transgressions, sealing them up in a bag, and presenting them to the judges and officers of state to be examined, in order to trial and judgment. Just at this time (July, 1820) charges of state transgressions, sealed up in a Green Bag, and presented to the two houses of parliament, for the examination of a secret committee, are making a considerable noise in the land. Some suppose the allusion is to money sealed up in bags; which is common in the East. This includes two ideas

1.    Job’ s transgressions were all numbered; not one was passed by

2.    They were sealed up; so that none of them could be lost. These bags were indifferently sewed or sealed, the two words in the text.

Clarke: Job 14:18 - The mountain falling cometh to naught

The mountain falling cometh to naught - Every thing in nature is exposed to mutability and decay: - even mountains themselves may fall from their bases, and be dashed to pieces; or be suddenly swallowed up by an earthquake; and, by the same means, the strongest and most massive rocks may be removed.

Clarke: Job 14:19 - The waters wear the stones

The waters wear the stones - Even the common stones are affected in the same way. Were even earthquakes and violent concussions of nature wanting, the action of water, either running over them as a stream, or even falling upon them in drops, will wear these stones. Hence the proverb: -

Gutta cavat lapidem non vi sed saepe cadendo

"Constant droppings will make a hole in a flint.

Εκ θαμινης ραθαμιγγος, ὁκως λογος, αιες ιοισας

Χ ’ ἁ λιθος ες ρωχμον κοιλαινεται

"From frequent dropping, as the proverb says, perpetually falling, even a stone is hollowed into a hole.

Clarke: Job 14:19 - Thou washest away the things

Thou washest away the things - Alluding to sudden falls of rain occasioning floods, by which the fruits of the earth are swept away; and thus the hope of man - the grain for his household, and provender for his cattle, is destroyed.

Clarke: Job 14:20 - Thou prevailest for ever against him

Thou prevailest for ever against him - It is impossible for him to withstand thee: every stroke of thine brings him down

Clarke: Job 14:20 - Thou changest his countenance

Thou changest his countenance - Probably an allusion to the custom of covering the face, when the person was condemned, and sending him away to execution. See the case of Haman, in the note on Esther, Est 7:8 (note).

Clarke: Job 14:21 - His sons come to honor

His sons come to honor - When dead, he is equally indifferent and unconscious whether his children have met with a splendid or oppressive lot in life; for as to this world, when man dies, in that day all his thoughts perish.

Clarke: Job 14:22 - But his flesh upon him shall have pain

But his flesh upon him shall have pain - The sum of the life of man is this, pain of body and distress of soul; and he is seldom without the one or the other, and often oppressed by both. Thus ends Job’ s discourse on the miserable state and condition of man. The last verse of the preceding chapter has been differently translated and explained. Mr

Good’ s version is the following, which he vindicates in a learned note: -

For his flesh shall drop away from him

And his soul shall become a waste from him

The Chaldee thus: "Nevertheless his flesh, on account of the worms, shall grieve over him; and his soul, in the house of judgment, shall wail over him."In another copy of this version it is thus: "Nevertheless his flesh, before the window is closed over him, shall grieve; and his soul, for seven days of mourning, shall bewail him in the house of his burial."I shall give the Hebrew: -

אך בשרו עליו יכאב

Ach besaro alaiv yichab

ונפשו עליו תאבל

Venaphsho alaiv teebal

Which Mr. Stock translates thus, both to the spirit and letter: -

But over him his flesh shall grieve

And over him his breath shall mourn

"In the daring spirit of oriental poetry,"says he, "the flesh, or body, and the breath, are made conscious beings; the former lamenting its putrefaction in the grave, the latter mourning over the mouldering clay which it once enlivened.

This version is, in my opinion, the most natural yet offered. The Syriac and Arabic present nearly the same sense: "But his body shall grieve over him; and his soul be astonished over him.

Coverdale follows the Vulgate: Whyle he lyveth his flesh must have travayle; and whyle the soul is in him, he must be in sorowe.

On Job 14:2. I have referred to the following beautiful lines, which illustrate these finely figurative texts: -

He cometh forth as a Flower, and is Cut Down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not

All flesh is Grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the Flower of the field

The Grass withereth, the Flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever

The morning flowers display their sweets,
And gay their silken leaves unfold

As careless of the noonday heats,
As fearless of the evening cold

Nipp’ d by the wind’ s untimely blast,
Parch’ d by the sun’ s directer ray

The momentary glories waste,
The short-lived beauties die away

So blooms the human face divine,
When youth its pride of beauty shows

Fairer than spring the colors shine,
And sweeter than the virgin rose

Or worn by slowly-rolling years,
Or broke by sickness in a day

The fading glory disappears,
The short-lived beauties die away

Yet these, new rising from the tomb,
With lustre brighter far shall shine

Revive with ever-during bloom,
Safe from diseases and decline

Let sickness blast, let death devour,
If heaven must recompense our pains

Perish the grass and fade the flower,
If firm the word of God remains

See a Collection of Poems on Sundry Occasions, by the Rev. Samuel Wesley, Master of Blundell’ s School, Tiverton.

Defender: Job 14:12 - riseth not

This unhappy outlook probably represents Job's personal feelings at this time. Very soon, however, his strong faith triumphed and he expressed certain assurance that he would be raised again after death to see God (Job 19:25)."

Defender: Job 14:14 - shall he live again

Death is man's greatest and unconquerable enemy. The question was especially poignant as voiced by Job, for he had even expressed a desire to die (Job 3:11-13). Later, as his faith reasserted itself, he answered his own question (Job 19:25)."

TSK: Job 14:12 - So man // till the heavens // awake

So man : Job 10:21, Job 10:22, Job 30:23; Ecc 3:19-21, Ecc 12:5

till the heavens : Job 19:25-27; Psa 102:26; Isa 51:6, Isa 65:17, Isa 66:22; Mat 24:35; Act 3:21; Rom 8:20; 2Pe 3:7, 2Pe 3:10-13; Rev 20:11, Rev 21:1

awake : Job 3:13, Job 7:21; Isa 26:19; Dan 12:2; Joh 11:11-13; Eph 5:14; 1Th 4:14, 1Th 4:15

TSK: Job 14:13 - hide me // until // appoint me // remember

hide me : Job 3:17-19; Isa 57:1, Isa 57:2

until : Isa 12:1, Isa 26:20, Isa 26:21

appoint me : Mar 13:32; Act 1:7, Act 17:31

remember : Gen 8:1; Psa 106:4; Luk 23:42

TSK: Job 14:14 - shall he live // all the days // will I wait

shall he live : Job 19:25, Job 19:26; Eze 37:1-14; Mat 22:29-32; Joh 5:28, Joh 5:29; Act 26:8; 1Co 15:42-44; 1Th 4:14-16; Rev 20:13

all the days : Job 14:5, Job 7:1, Job 42:16; Psa 27:14, Psa 40:1, Psa 40:2; Lam 3:25, Lam 3:26; Jam 5:7, Jam 5:8

will I wait : Job 13:15; 1Co 15:51, 1Co 15:52; Phi 3:21

TSK: Job 14:15 - shalt call // thou wilt have

shalt call : Job 13:22; Psa 50:4, Psa 50:5; 1Th 4:17; 1Jo 2:28

thou wilt have : Job 7:21, Job 10:3, Job 10:8; Psa 138:8; 1Pe 4:19

TSK: Job 14:16 - thou numberest

thou numberest : Job 10:6, Job 10:14, Job 13:27, Job 31:4, Job 33:11, Job 34:21; Psa 56:6, Psa 139:1-4; Pro 5:21; Jer 32:19

TSK: Job 14:17 - sealed up

sealed up : Job 21:19; Deu 32:34; Hos 13:12

TSK: Job 14:18 - the mountain // cometh to nought // the rock

the mountain : Psa 102:25, Psa 102:26; Isa 40:12, Isa 41:15, Isa 41:16, Isa 54:10, Isa 64:1; Jer 4:24; Rev 6:14; Rev 8:8, Rev 20:11

cometh to nought : Heb. fadeth

the rock : Job 18:4; Mat 27:51

TSK: Job 14:19 - The waters // washest // destroyest

The waters : Hence the proverb, ""Constant droppings make a hole in a stone."

washest : Heb. overflowest, Gen 6:17, Gen 7:21-23

destroyest : Job 19:10, Job 27:8; Psa 30:6, Psa 30:7; Eze 37:11; Luk 12:19, Luk 12:20

TSK: Job 14:20 - prevailest // changest

prevailest : Ecc 8:8

changest : Job 14:14, Job 2:12; Lam 4:8

TSK: Job 14:21 - he knoweth it not

he knoweth it not : 1Sa 4:20; Psa 39:6; Ecc 2:18, Ecc 2:19, Ecc 9:5; Isa 39:7, Isa 39:8, Isa 63:16

TSK: Job 14:22 - his flesh // his soul

his flesh : Job 19:20, Job 19:22, Job 19:26, Job 33:19-21

his soul : Pro 14:32; Luk 16:23, Luk 16:24

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Job 14:12 - Man lieth down // Riseth not // Till the heavens be no more

Man lieth down to wit, in his bed, the grave, or to sleep the sleep of death, as this phrase is used, Gen 46:30 Deu 31:6 2Sa 7:12 1Ki 1:21 .

Riseth not to wit, to tills life; for he speaks not here of the life to come, nor of the resurrection of the belly after death by the Divine power; of his belief whereof he giveth sufficient evidences in divers places.

Till the heavens be no more i.e. either,

1. Never; because the heavens, though they shall be changed in their qualities, yet shall never cease to be, as to the substance of them. And therefore everlasting and unchangeable things are expressed by the duration of the heavens; of which see Psa 72:5,7,17 89:29,36,37 Mt 5:18 24:35 . Or,

2. Not until the time of the general resurrection, and the restitution of things, when these visible heavens shall pass away, and be no more, at least in the same form and manner as now they are; of which see Psa 102:26 Luk 21:33 2Pe 3:7,10 Re 21:1 .

Poole: Job 14:13 - In the grave // That thou wouldest keep me secret // Until thy wrath be past // A set time // Remember me

In the grave either,

1. In some dark vault under ground, such as good men hide themselves in times of persecution, Heb 11:38 . Lord, hide me in some hiding place from thy wrath, and all the intolerable effects of it, which are upon me; for I cannot be hid from thee, but by thee. Or,

2. In the grave, properly so called. Though I know life once lost is irrecoverable, yet I heartily desire death, rather than to continue in these torments. And if the next words and wish seem to suppose the continuance of his life, that is not strange; for he speaks like one almost distracted with his miseries, sometimes wishing one thing, sometimes another and the quite contrary, as such persons use to do. And these wishes may be understood disjunctively, I wish either that I were dead, or that God would give me life free from these torments. Or the place may be understood thus, I could wish, if it were possible, that I might lie in the grave for a time till these storms be blown over, and then be restored to a comfortable life.

That thou wouldest keep me secret in some secret and safe place, under the shadow of thy wings and favour, that I may have some support and comfort from thee.

Until thy wrath be past whilst I am oppressed with such grievous and various calamities; which he calls God’ s wrath, because they were, or seemed to be, the effects of his wrath.

A set time to wit, to my sufferings, as thou hast done to my life, Job 14:5 .

Remember me i.e. wherein thou wilt remember me, to wit, in mercy, or so as to deliver me; for it is well known that God is frequently said to forget those whom he suffers to continue in misery, and to remember those whom he delivers out of it.

Poole: Job 14:14 - Shall he live again? // until my change come

Shall he live again? i.e. he shall not, namely, in this world, as was said before. The affirmative question is equivalent to an absolute denial, as Gen 18:17 Psa 46:7 Jer 5:9 , and every where.

Seeing death puts an end to all men’ s hopes of any comfortable being here, because man once dead never returns to life, I will therefore wait on God, and hope for his favour whilst I live, and it is possible to enjoy it, and will continue waiting from time to time

until my change come i.e. either,

1. Death, the great and last change; which is expressed by the root of this word, Job 10:17 . Or,

2. The change of my condition for the better, which you upon your terms encourage me to expect, and which I yet trust in God I shall enjoy; for this word properly signifies vicissitudes or changes in one’ s condition; and this seems to suit best with the following verse. And this change, or a comfortable life here, Job so heartily wisheth, not only from that love of life and comfort which is naturally implanted in all men, good and bad, and is not forbidden by God, which also was stronger in those Old Testament saints, when the discoveries of God’ s grace to sinners, and of eternal life, were much darker than now they are; but also because this would be an effectual vindication of his own integrity and good name, and of the honour of religion, both which did suffer some eclipse from Job’ s extreme calamities, as is evident from the discourses of his friends.

Poole: Job 14:15

I trust there is a time coming when thou wilt grant me the mercy which now thou deniest me, to wit, a favourable hearing, when thou wilt call to me to speak for myself, and I shall answer thee ; which I know will be to thy satisfaction and my comfort. Compare this with Job 13:22 , where the same words are used in this same sense. Or, Thou shalt call me out of the grave of my calamities, and I shall answer thee , and say, Here I am, raised out of the pit in which I was buried by thy powerful and gracious command. To the work of thine hands , i.e. to me, who am thy workmanship in divers respects, from whom thou now seemest to have an aversion and abhorrency; but I doubt not thou wilt have a desire , i.e. show thy affection or good will to me; or a desire to look upon me, and to deliver me. Nor is it strange that Job, who lately was upon the brink of despair, doth now breathe out words of hope; such ebbings and flowings being usual, both with Job elsewhere, as Job 13:15,16 , and with David frequently in the Psalms, and with others of God’ s people.

Poole: Job 14:16 - For now // Thou, numberest my steps // Dost thou not watch over my sin

For now so this is a reason of his desire of death, Job 14:13 . Or rather, But now ; for this seems to be added by way of opposition. I believe thou wilt pity and help me, but for the present it is far otherwise with me.

Thou, numberest my steps thou makest a strict inquiry into all my actions, that thou mayst find out all mine errors, and punish them. Compare Job 13:27 31:4 34:1 Psa 56:6 .

Dost thou not watch over my sin i.e. dost thou not watch for my haltings, or miscarriages, as if thou wast glad of an occasion to punish me? Or, thou dost not delay the punishment of my sin ; for the same Hebrew word signifies both sin and its punishments .

Poole: Job 14:17 - Sealed up in a bag // Thou sewest up mine iniquity

Sealed up in a bag as writings or other choice things, that they may be safely kept, and all of them brought forth upon occasion, and not one of them forgotten or lost. Compare Deu 32:44 Job 37:7 Hos 13:12 .

Thou sewest up mine iniquity i.e. thou keepest all my sins in thy memory, and fastenest the guilt of them upon my conscience. Or, thou addest to my sin , one sin to another; the follies of my youth, Job 13:26 , to those of my riper years. Or, thou addest to my punishment , i.e. thou punishest me more than mine iniquities deserve, all things considered. For this sinful thought seems sometimes to have risen in Job’ s mind, as may be gathered from divers parts of this book; which therefore Zophar decries and disproves, Job 11:6 .

Poole: Job 14:18 - it is removed out of its place

As when a great mountain falls , either by an earthquake or inundation of waters, or from any other cause, it moulders away like a fading leaf , (as the Hebrew word signifies,) and never recovers its former height and stability; and as the rock, when by the violence of winds or earthquake, &c.

it is removed out of its place and thrown down, is never readvanced; and as the waters by continual droppings, or violent and frequent assaults, wear away , or break the stones to pieces , so as they can never be made whole again; and as thou washest away , to wit, by a great and violent inundation which thou sendest, the things which grow out of the dust of the earth , to wit, herbs, and fruits, and plants, which once washed away are irrecoverably lost, and , or so , (as this particle is oft used, i.e. in like manner, to wit, irrecoverably,) thou destroyest the hope of man ; i.e. so when man dies, all hope of living again in this world is utterly lost: and this seems to be the plain meaning of these two verses. And as before he declared the hopelessness of man’ s restoration from death to this animal life, by way of opposition to such things as did rise in a manner from death to life, Job 14:7 , &c.; so now he declares it by way of similitude or resemblance to such things, as being once lost and gone are past all hopes of recovery.

Poole: Job 14:20 - He passeth // Sendest him away

When once thou takest away this life, it is gone for ever; for he speaks not here of man’ s future and eternal life in another world.

He passeth i.e. he dieth, or is about to die. Man’ s death is oft called a passage , or a going , to intimate that it is not an annihilation, but only a translation of him into another place and state. His countenance; either,

1. His visage, which by death and its harbingers is quite transformed in colour and shape, as we see by daily experience. Or,

2. The face and state of his affairs, as to worldly riches, and pleasures, and honours, all which he leaves behind him.

Sendest him away to his long home by death.

Poole: Job 14:21 - He knoweth it not

He knoweth it not either,

1. Is ignorant of all such events; or,

2. Is not concerned nor affected with them. A dead or dying man minds not these things.

Poole: Job 14:22 - pain

This is man’ s condition; he is miserable both when he dies, because he dies without hope of returning to life, as he had discoursed before; and (as he now adds) whilst he lives, whilst his flesh is upon him, and his soul within him ; whilst the soul is clothed with or united to the body, he feels sharp

pain in his body, and bitter grief in his soul. Seeing therefore the state of man upon earth is so vain and unhappy every way, Lord, give me some comfort to sweeten my life, or take away my life from me.

Haydock: Job 14:12 - Till

Till. At that time, the general resurrection will take place. (Vatable) (Scultet.) ---

But people will never revive, according to the course of nature. In St. Matthew v. 18., and Psalm lxxi. 7., till is used in this sense. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 14:13 - That thou mayst protect me in hell

That thou mayst protect me in hell. That is, in the state of the dead; an din the place where souls are kept waiting for their Redeemer; (Challoner) and in the grave, where the body awaits the resurrection. (Haydock) ---

These words are repeated in the office of the dead, in the name of the souls in purgatory. (Denis the Carthusian, a. 34.) ---

They are adduced in proof of limbo. But sheol denotes also "the grave." (Amama) ---

What then? The soul is not confined there. It must consequently be explained of the lower receptacle for souls, as well as of the grave. (Haydock)

Haydock: Job 14:14 - Dead // Thinkest thou // Warfare

Dead. Shall one in a condition nearly as bad, like myself, be restored to health? Yes, I entertain this hope. (Calmet) ---

Thinkest thou, is not in Hebrew or Septuagint. The latter speaks (Haydock) clearly of the resurrection. (Calmet) ---

"For if a man die, shall he revive, having completed the days of his life? I wait (for thee) till I be again." (Grabe) (Haydock) ---

Warfare. Chap. vii. 1.

Haydock: Job 14:16 - But

But. Hebrew, "Mark out, (Calmet) or dost thou not observe my sin?" This fills me with terror, (Haydock) unless thou shew mercy.

Haydock: Job 14:17 - Cured

Cured. Hebrew, "sewed up." This method and sealing was in use to keep things of value, before locks were invented. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint, "thou hast noted if I had transgressed unwillingly, Greek: akon. " Yet God will not make us accountable for what we cannot help.

Haydock: Job 14:19 - Man

Man. Hebrew and Septuagint, "the hope of man." (Haydock) ---

He must not expect to be more privileged than all other things, which time consumes. (Calmet) ---

Job again deplores human misery. (Menochius)

Haydock: Job 14:20 - Strengthened

Strengthened. Septuagint, "driven away." (Pagnin, &c.) ---

"Thou wilt treat him harshly." (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 14:21 - Or dishonour

Or dishonour. He cannot naturally be informed. (Menochius) ---

God may, however, reveal to souls departed, what may increase their accidental happiness or misery. (Haydock) ---

Hence the Church prays to the saints. Job is speaking chiefly of the body in the grave, and of what appear exteriorly. During life man cannot foresee the state of his children; not in the other world, would their condition render him happy or otherwise. (Calmet) (Mercer) ---

Septuagint, "If his sons be many,...or....few, he knows not." (Haydock) ---

He is not affected in the same manner as he would be, if living. (Worthington)

Haydock: Job 14:22 - Over

Over. Hebrew, "within him." (Haydock) ---

During life man is full of cares, and presently he is consigned to the dreary tomb, ver. 19. (Calmet)

Gill: Job 14:12 - So man lieth down // and riseth not // till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep

So man lieth down,.... Or "and", or "but man lieth down" ^b; in the grave when he dies, as on a bed, and takes his rest from all his labours, toil and troubles, and lies asleep, and continues so till the resurrection morn:

and riseth not; from off his bed, or comes not out of his grave into this world, to the place where he was, and to be engaged in the affairs of life he was before, and never by his own power; and whenever he will rise, it will be by the power of God, and this not till the last day, when Christ shall appear in person to judge the world; and then the dead in Christ will rise first, at the beginning of the thousand years, and the wicked at the end of them:

till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep; for so the words are to be read, not in connection with those that go before, but with the last clauses; though the sense is much the same either way, which is, that those who are fallen asleep by death, and lie sleeping in their graves, and on their beds, these shall neither awake of themselves, nor be awaked by others, "till the heavens be no more"; that is, never, so as to awake and arise of themselves, and to this natural life, and to be concerned in the business of it; which sometimes seems to be the sense of this phrase, see Psa 89:29, Mat 5:18; or, as some render it, "till the heavens are wore out", or "waxen old" ^c; as they will like a garment, and be folded up, and laid aside, as to their present use, Psa 102:26; or till they shall vanish away, and be no more, as to their present form, quality, and use, though they may exist as to substance; and when this will be the case, as it will be when the Judge shall appear, when Christ shall come a second time to judge the world; then the earth and heaven will flee away from his face, the earth and its works shall be burnt up, and the heavens shall pass away with great noise; and then, and not till then, will the dead, or those that are asleep in their graves, be awaked by the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, and they shall be raised from their sleepy beds, awake and arise, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Gill: Job 14:13 - And 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

And that thou wouldest hide me in the grave,.... The house appointed for all living, which some understand by the "chambers" in Isa 26:20; The cemeteries or dormitories of the saints, where they lie and sleep until the indignation of God against a wicked world is over and past; or in Hades, the state of the dead, where they are insensible of what is done in this world, what calamities and judgments are on the inhabitants of it, and so are not affected and grieved with these things; or in some cavern of the earth, in the utmost recesses of it, in the very centre thereof, if possible; his wish is, to be buried alive, or to live in some subterraneous place, free from his present afflictions and misery, than to be upon earth with them:

that thou wouldest keep me secret; so that no eye should see him, that is, no human eye; for he did not expect to be hid from the sight of God, be he where he would, before whom hell and destruction, or the grave, are and have no covering; and not only be secret, but safe from all trials and troubles, oppressions and oppressors; especially as he may mean the grave where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest; the keys of which Christ keeps in his hands, and locks and unlocks, and none but him; and where he has laid up his jewels, the precious dust of his saints and where they and that will be preserved as hidden treasure:

until thy wrath be past; either with respect to others, an ungodly world, to punish whom God sometimes comes out of his place in great wrath and indignation; and to prevent his dear children and people from being involved in common and public calamities, he takes them away beforehand, and hides them in his chambers, Isa 26:19; or with respect to himself, as to his own apprehension of things, who imagined that the wrath of God was upon him, being severely afflicted by him; all the effects of which he supposed would not be removed until he was brought to the dust, from whence he came, and until his body was changed at the resurrection; till that time there are some appearances of the displeasure of against sin: and then follows another petition,

that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me; either for his going down to the grave, and being hid there, for which there is an appointed time; for as that is the place appointed for man, it is appointed for man to go unto it, and the time when, as appears from Job 14:5; or his coming out of the grave, for his resurrection from thence, which also is fixed, even the last day, the day God has appointed to judge the world in righteousness by Christ at which time the dead will be raised; though of that day and hour no man knows: unless he should mean a time for deliverance from his afflictions which also is set; for God, as he settles the bounds of an affliction, how far it should go, and no farther, so likewise the time when it should end; and either of these Job might call a remembering of him, who thought himself in his present case, as a dead man, out of mind, as those that lie in the grave, remembered no more.

Gill: Job 14:14 - If a man die // shall he live again // all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come

If a man die,.... This is said not as if it was a matter of doubt, he had before asserted it; as sure as men have sinned, so sure shall they die; nothing is more certain than death, it is appointed by God, and is sure; but taking it for granted, the experience of all men, and the instances of persons of every age, rank, and condition, testifying to it; the Targum restrains it to wicked men,

"if a wicked man die:''

shall he live again? no, he shall not live in this earth, and in the place where he was, doing the same business he once did; that is, he shall not live here; ordinarily speaking, the instances are very rare and few; two or three instances there have been under the Old Testament, and a few under the New; but this is far from being a general and usual case, and never through the strength of nature, or of a man's self, but by the mighty power of God: or it may be answered to affirmatively, he shall live again at the general resurrection, at the last day, when all shall come out of their graves, and there will be a general resurrection of the just, and of the unjust; some will live miserably, in inexpressible and eternal torments, and wish to die, but cannot, their life will be a kind of death, even the second death; others will live comfortably and happily an endless life of joy and pleasure with God; Father, Son and Spirit, angels and glorified saints: hence, in the faith of this is the following resolution,

all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come; there is an appointed time for man on earth when he shall be born, how long he shall live, and when he shall die, see Job 7:1; or "of my warfare" ^d for the life of man, especially of a good man, is a state of warfare with many enemies, sin, Satan, and the world; at the end of which there will be a "change"; for not a change of outward circumstances in this life is meant; for though there was such a change befell Job, yet he was, especially at this time, in no expectation of it; and though his friends suggested it to him, upon his repentance and reformation, he had no hope of it, but often expresses the contrary: but either a change at death is meant; the Targum calls it a change of life, a change of this life for another; death makes a great change in the body of a man, in his place here, in his relations and connections with men, in his company, condition, and circumstances: or else the change at the resurrection, when this vile body will be changed, and made like unto Christ's; when it will become an incorruptible, glorious, powerful, and spiritual body, which is now corruptible, dishonourable, weak, and natural; and, till one or other of these should come, Job is determined to wait, to live in the constant expectation of death, and to be in a readiness and preparation for it; in the mean while to bear afflictions patiently, and not show such marks of impatience as he had done, nor desire to die before God's time, but, whenever that should come, quietly and cheerfully resign himself into the hands of God; or this may respect the frame and business of the soul in a separate state after death, and before the resurrection, believing, hoping, and waiting for the resurrection of the body, and its union to it, see Psa 16:10.

Gill: Job 14:15 - Thou shall call, and I will answer thee // thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands

Thou shall call, and I will answer thee,.... Either at death, when the soul of than is required of him, and he is summoned out of time into eternity, and has sometimes previous notice of it; though not by a prophet, or express messenger from the Lord, as Hezekiah had, yet by some disease and distemper or another, which has a voice, a call in it to expect a remove shortly; and a good man that is prepared for it, he answers to this call readily and cheerfully; death is no king of terrors to him, he is not reluctant to it, yea, desirous of it; entreats his dismission in peace, and even longs for it, and rejoices and triumphs in the views of it: or else at the resurrection, when Christ shall call to the dead, as he did to Lazarus, and say, Come forth; and when they shall hear his voice, even the voice of the archangel, and shall answer to it, and come forth out of their graves, the sea, death, and the grave, being obliged to deliver up the dead that are therein; though some think this refers to God's call unto him in a judicial way, and his answers to it by way of defence, as in Job 13:22; but the other sense seems more agreeable to the context:

thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands; meaning his body, which is the workmanship of God, and a curious piece of workmanship it is, wonderfully and fearfully made, Psa 139:14, and curiously wrought; and though it may seem to be marred and spoiled by death, yet God will have a desire to the restoration of it at the resurrection to a better condition; even the bodies of his people, and that because they are vessels chosen by him, given to his Son, redeemed by his blood, united to his person, and sanctified by his Spirit, whose temples they are, and in whom he dwells: wherefore upon these considerations it may be reasonably supposed that Father, Son, and Spirit, have a desire to the resurrection of the bodies of the saints, and in which they will have a concern; and from which it may be concluded it will be certainly effected, since God is a rock, and his work is perfect, or will be, both upon the bodies and souls of his people; and the work of sanctification will not be properly completed on them until their vile bodies are changed, and made like to the glorious body of Christ; which must be very desirable to him, who has such a special love for them, and delight in them. Some render the words with an interrogation, "wilt thou desire to destroy the work of thine hands" ^e? surely thou wilt not; or, as Ben Gersom,

"is it fit that thou shouldest desire to destroy the work of thine hands?''

surely it is not becoming, it cannot be thought that thou wilt do it; but the former sense is best.

Gill: Job 14:16 - For now thou numberest my steps // dost thou not watch over my sin

For now thou numberest my steps,.... Or "but now" ^g, at this present time thou seemest to have no desire to me, or affection for me, but the reverse. Job was in a pretty good frame of mind a little before, having in view his last change, and the glorious resurrection; but on a sudden he returns to his former complaints of God, and here of the rigour and strictness of his justice in marking his steps, and correcting him for his sin; so very uncertain are the best of frames: the outward conversation of men, whether good or bad, is often in Scripture expressed by walking, and the actions of men, good or evil, are the steps taken therein; here they signify evil ones, irregular steps, steps out of the way of God's commandments, aberrations, strayings from thence, false steps; these Job supposed God not only had knowledge of, as he has of all the ways, paths, and goings of men, but took very exact notice of his wrong steps; looked very narrowly to his paths, as in Job 13:27; and strictly marked them; yea, told them one by one, that he might miss none, and make up a large account, which he put down in his book, in order to produce against him; in which Job was mistaken: he thought God dealt with him as he does with wicked men, whose evil actions are not only known and observed, but are counted and put down in the book of his remembrance, which will be opened at the last day, and produced against them; but God has blotted out of his book the sins of his people, and will remember them no more; he has a book of remembrance for their good works, words, and thoughts, but none for their evil ones:

dost thou not watch over my sin? of error, infirmity, and weakness; observe it, mark it in a strict and rigorous way, which, when God does, who can stand before him? or "watch for my sin?" Dan 9:14 as Jeremiah's enemies watched for his halting; so Job here represents God very wrongly, as if he watched for an opportunity against him, to take the advantage of it, and severely chastise him: or "thou dost not wait for my sin" ^h; that is, the punishment of it as many of the Jewish writers ⁱ carry the sense; which is, that God did not defer the punishment of sin, or give him any respite or breathing time, but as soon as ever he committed any offence, immediately, at once, he was rough with him, and used him with great severity. Aben Ezra inserts the word "only", as explanative of the meaning of the words, thus, "thou watchest only over my sin", or dost not mark and observe anything but my sins; not my good deeds, only my evil ones; which is a wrong charge, for God takes notice of the good works of his people, and rewards them in a way of grace, though not of debt, as well as of their evil works, and chastises for them in a fatherly way: others render the words to this sense, what is not, or of no moment or consequence, thou keepest for me in mind and memory, as sin ^k; that which is not sin, or at least not known to me to be sin, or however something very trifling, scarce to be called a sin, yet I am dealt with for it as if a very heinous one; or I am afflicted for I know not what, or, which is all one, for what is not known to me. Some take the words to be a petition, "do not observe my sin" ^l; or mark it strictly, or keep it in mind, or reserve it against another time, but hide thy face from it, and remember it no more, nor never against me.

Gill: Job 14:17 - My transgression is sealed up in a bag // and thou sewest up mine iniquity

My transgression is sealed up in a bag,.... Denoting either the concealment of it, as in Hos 13:12; not from God; nor in such sense sealed up as sin is by the sacrifice and satisfaction of Christ, who has thereby removed it out of the sight of divine justice; so that when it is sought for it shall not be found, nor any more seen, which is the sense of the phrase in Dan 9:24; where the words, "to make an end of sin", may be rendered, to "seal them up"; but this Job would not have complained of; he means it was hid as in a bag from himself, or he knew not what it was; the transgression was sealed up from him, he was entirely ignorant of and unacquainted with what it was for which he was severely afflicted: or else his sense is, that God had taken strict notice of his transgressions, and had, as it were, put them up in a bag, and set a seal upon it, that none might be lost, but might be ready to be produced against him another day; in allusion, as it is thought, to bills of indictment put up in bags sealed, to be brought into courts of judicature at a proper time, for which they are reserved:

and thou sewest up mine iniquity; in the bag in which it is sealed; not only did he seal up the bag, but sewed a cloth over it thus sealed, for greater security: or "thou sewest to mine iniquity" ^m, or adds iniquity to iniquity, as in Psa 69:27; as arithmeticians do, who add one number to another until it becomes a great sum; thus God, according to Job, tacked and joined one sin to another, till it became one large heap and pile, reaching to the heavens, and calling for vengeance; or, as Sephorno interprets it, joined sins of ignorance to sins of presumption; or rather sewed or added the punishment of sin to sin, or punishment to punishment; the Targum is,

"my transgression is sealed up in a book of remembrances, and thou hast joined it to my iniquities.''

Gill: Job 14:18 - And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought // and the rock is removed out of his place

And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought,.... Job here returns to his former subject of the irreparable state of man at death, which he illustrates by various other similes, as before; and first by a "mountain falling", which may be supposed, and has been fact, and when it does, it "comes to nought"; it crumbles into dust, and where it falls there it lies, and never rises up to a mountain, or to the height it had, any more; or it "withers" ⁿ, as some render it, the plants, herbs, and trees that grow upon it, wither away, see Nah 1:4; or "it is dissolved", or "flows" ^o, and spreads itself over the face of the green earth it covers, and destroys with its dust and sand, which is never more gathered up to form a mountain again; so man, like unto a mountain, as kingdoms and states, and kings and princes, and great men are; the Targum instances in Lot; as a man may be said to be, that is in good health of body, and in prosperous circumstances in his family; when he falls, as he does by death, which is expressed by falling, 2Sa 3:38; he comes to nought, he is not any more in the land of the living, nor in the place and circumstances in which he was before:

and the rock is removed out of his place; from the mountain, of which it was a part; or elsewhere, by earthquakes, by force of winds, or strength of waters; and which, when once removed, is never returned to its place any more; so man, who in his full strength seems like a rock immovable, when death comes, it shakes and moves him out of his place, and that never knows him any more.

Gill: Job 14:19 - 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

The waters wear the stones,.... Either by continual running in them, or constant dropping upon them ^p; and the excavations or hollow places they: make are never filled up again, these impressions are never effaced, nor the stones reduced to their ancient form; so man, though he may have the strength of stones, yet the waters of afflictions will gradually wear him away, and bring him to the dust of death, and where he must lie till the heavens be no more:

thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; herbs, plants, and trees, which a violent inundation of water tears up by the roots, and carries away, and they are never restored to their places any more. The word ספיחיה, which we render "the things which grow out", the spontaneous productions of the earth, as in Lev 25:5. Aben Ezra interprets of floods of water; and so Schultens, from the use of the word ^q in the Arabic language, translates it, "their effusions"; that is, the effusions of waters before mentioned, the floods and inundations of them overflow, "and wash away the dust of the earth"; not only that which is on the surface of it, the soil of it; but, as the same learned man observes, they plough and tear up the earth itself, and carry it away, and it is never repaired; so men at death are carried away as with a flood, and are no more, see Psa 90:5;

and or "so" ^r.

thou destroyest the hope of man, not the hope of a good man about his eternal state, and of enjoying eternal happiness; which is the gift of God's grace, which is without repentance, never revoked, called in, or taken away or destroyed; it is built upon the promise of God, who cannot lie; it is founded on the person, blood, and righteousness of Christ; and though it may be brought low, it is never lost; the hope of carnal men in an arm of flesh, in the creature and creature enjoyments, is indeed destroyed; and so is the hope of external professors of religion, that is formed on their own works of righteousness, and profession of religion; but of this Job is not speaking, but of the hope of man of living again in this world after death; for this is a reddition or application of the above similes used to illustrate this point, the irreparable state of man at death, so as that he shall never return to this life again, and to the same state and circumstances of things as before; and next follows a description of death, and the state of the dead.

Gill: Job 14:20 - Thou prevailest for ever against him // and he passeth // thou changest his countenance // and sendeth him away

Thou prevailest for ever against him,.... God is a more than a match for man, in anything, in everything; there is no contending with him, or standing against him, he is stronger than he, and always prevails; there is no withstanding any disease, and the force of it, when he sends it; it is a messenger and servant of his, it goes at his command, and does what he bids it do; and all the art and power of man cannot resist it, or hinder what God would have done by it; and so death itself is irresistible; what is stronger than death? it is a king that reigns with a despotic power; it reigns irresistibly, victoriously, and triumphantly; it prevails over all men, in all ages, and will do to the end of the world; no man has power over his spirit to retain it one moment, when death comes to separate it from the body: and this prevalence of God by death over men will be for ever; the grave is man's long home, to which he is brought by death, and he will never return from it more, to come again into this world, and be about the business of it as now;

and he passeth; out of the world, and is seen no more in it; death is a going the way of all flesh, a departure out of this life, and to it man never usually returns more; he goes to Hades, to the invisible place, and makes his appearance no more here; see Psa 37:35;

thou changest his countenance; at death; the forerunners of death will change a man's countenance, pains, and diseases of body; by these God makes man's beauty to consume like the moth; the fear of death will change a man's countenance, as the handwriting on the wall did Belshazzar's, Dan 5:9; even such who have out-braved death, and pretended to have made a covenant and agreement with it, yet when the king of terrors is presented to them, they are seized with a panic, their hearts ache, and their countenances turn pale; but oh! what a change is made by death itself, which for this reason is represented as riding on a pale horse; Rev 6:8; when the rosy florid looks of man are gone, his comeliness turned into corruption, his countenance pale and meagre, his eyes hollow and sunk, his nose sharp pointed, his ears contracted, and jaws fallen, and his complexion altered, and still more when laid in the grave, and he is turned to rottenness, dust, and worms:

and sendeth him away; giveth him a dismission from this world; sendeth him out of it, from his house, his family, friends, and acquaintance: his birth is expressed often by his coming into the world, and his death by going out of it; for here he has no continuance, no abiding, no rest; and yet there is no departure till God gives him dismission by death, then he sends him away from hence; some in wrath, whom he sends to take up their abode with devils and damned spirits; others in love, to prevent their being involved in evils coming upon the earth, and to be in better company, with God and Christ, with angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect: Maimonides interprets this of Adam ^r, who, when he changed the object of his countenance, and looked on the forbidden fruit, was sent out of paradise.

Gill: Job 14:21 - His sons come to honour // and he knoweth it not // and they are brought low // but he perceiveth it not of them

His sons come to honour,.... Or "are multiplied" ^s, see Nah 3:15; their families increase like a flock, become very numerous, which was reckoned a great blessing; or "become heavy" ^t; being loaded with gold and silver, with riches and honour, raised to great grandeur and dignity, and possessed of much wealth and large estates:

and he knoweth it not; the man whose countenance is changed and sent away into another world; for the dead know nothing of the affairs of this life; a good man indeed after death knows more of God and Christ, of the doctrines of grace, and mysteries of Providence; but he knows nothing of the affairs of his family he has left behind: some understand this of a man on his death bed while alive, who, when he is told of the promotion of his sons to honour, or of the increase of their worldly substance, takes no notice of it; either being deprived of his senses by the disease upon him; or through the greatness of his pains and agonies, or the intenseness of his thoughts about a future state, does not notice what is told him, nor rejoice at it; which in the time of health would have been pleasing to him: but the first sense seems best:

and they are brought low, that is, his sons; or "are diminished" ^u; lessened in their numbers, one taken off after another, and so his family decreases; or they come into low circumstances of life, are reduced in the world, and brought to straits and difficulties, to want and poverty:

but he perceiveth it not of them; he is not sensible of their troubles, and so not grieved at them; see Isa 63:16; or when he is told of them on his death bed, he does not take notice of them, or regard them, having enough to grapple with himself, and his mind intent on his everlasting state, or carried above them in the views of the love, grace, and covenant of God; see 2Sa 23:5.

Gill: Job 14:22 - But his flesh upon him shall have pain // and his soul within him shall mourn

But his flesh upon him shall have pain,.... Either he shall be chastened with strong pains on his sick and dying bed; which is the reason why he neither rejoices at the happiness of his family, nor is distressed at their misfortunes; having so much pain in his flesh and bones to endure himself; or, as Gussetius ^x renders it, "for this" his flesh and soul shall have pain and grief while he lives, because he cannot know how it will be with his family when he is dead; but rather this is to be understood of a man when dead; and so it is a continuation of the description of death, or of the state of the dead; thus Aben Ezra interprets it of his flesh upon him, that is, his body shall melt away, rot and corrupt, meaning in the grave; so the word is used of marring and destroying, in 2Ki 3:19, to which the Targum inclines,

"but his flesh, because of worms upon him, shall grieve;''

and so Jarchi, troublesome is the worm to a dead man as a needle in quick flesh; pain and grief are by a prosopopoeia or personification attributed to a dead body; signifying, that could it be sensible of its case, it would be painful and grievous to it:

and his soul within him shall mourn; either while he lives, because of his afflictions and terrors, the days being come in which he has no pleasure, and the time of death drawing nigh; or his dead body, as the word is used in Psa 16:10; said to mourn by the same figure; or his soul, because of his body being dead; or rather his breath, which at death fails and pines away ^y.