Job 14:2

Job 14:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
• New International Version (NIV)They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure.
• English Standard Version (ESV)He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.
• New King James Version (NKJV)He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.

Context of Job 14:2

1“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble. Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. 3Do You open Your eyes to one like this? Will You bring him into judgment before You? 4Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!

Job 14:2 word by word

כְּצִ֣יץ יָ֭צָא וַיִּמָּ֑ל וַיִּבְרַ֥ח כַּ֝צֵּ֗ל וְלֹ֣א יַעֲמֽוֹד׃Read the interlinear

• Like a flowerצִיץtsîyts tsits · flowerH6731
• he comes forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: issueH3318
• then withers awayמָלַלnâmal · to languishH5243
• like a fleeting shadowצֵלtsêl · shadowH6738
• like a fleeting shadowבָּרַחbârach · to fleeH1272
• he does notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• endureעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975

Cross-references for Job 14:2

• Psalms 90:5You sweep them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning—
• Psalms 92:7that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.
• Psalms 103:15As for man, his days are like grass— he blooms like a flower of the field;
• Isaiah 40:6A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
• James 1:10But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
• James 4:14You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
• 1 Peter 1:24For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
• Job 8:9For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow.
• Job 9:25My days are swifter than a runner; they flee without seeing good.
• 1 Chronicles 29:15For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
• Psalms 102:11My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass.
• Psalms 144:4Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
• Ecclesiastes 8:13Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

Commentaries on Job 14:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2He cometh forth like a flower - This is a frequent image both in the Old and New Testament writers; I need not quote the places here, as the readers will find them all in the margin. He fleeth also as a shadow - Himself, as he appears among men, is only the shadow of his real, substantial, and eternal being. He is here compared to a vegetable; he springs up, bears his flower is often nipped by disease, blasted by afflictions and at last cut down by death…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down - Nothing can be more obvious and more beautiful than this, and the image has been employed by writers in all ages, but nowhere with more beauty, or with more frequency than in the Bible; see Isaiah 40:6; Psalm 37:2; Psalm 90:6; Psalm 103:15. Next to the Bible, it is probable that Shakespeare has employed the image with the most exquisite beauty of any poet: This is the state of man; today he puts forth The…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2The flower symbolizes how short life is (Psalms 90:5–6; 103:15–16; Isaiah 40:6–7). A shadow passes quickly (1 Chronicles 29:15; Psalm 102:11).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. (Psa 90:6; see on Job 8:9).Read the comment

Topics related to Job 14:2

• Death
• Life
• Readings, Select

In the dictionaries

• Awake
• Born
• Change
• Clean
• Flowers
• Plow
• Raise
• Sew
• Stock
• Wait

Commentaries on Job 14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings