Job 14:1-12

1Everyone that a woman gives birth to lives only for a short time. The days of his life are full of trouble.

2He is like a flower that grows and then it soon dies. His life quickly disappears like a shadow.

3I am only a human like that, so why do you watch me so carefully? Why do you want to bring me into a court to judge me?

4People are not clean and pure. Nobody can change them to become pure.

5You have decided how long people should live. You control the number of months that each person will live. Nobody can live any longer than that.

6So do not watch us! Leave us alone! We must work for the time that you have decided. Please leave us to work in peace.

7If someone cuts down a tree, the tree may not die. New branches may grow from it.

8Its roots in the ground may be old. The part of the tree that remains may be nearly dead.

9But if only a little water comes near to it, it will start to grow again. It will make new branches, like a young plant.

10But when people lose their strength and they die, that is the end. After they die, where do they go?

11When the water disappears from a lake or a river, they become dry.

12It is the same with people when they die. They will never rise to live again. As long as the sky remains above the earth, they will continue to sleep in death.