New Living Translation
Job 14:2
2We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.
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“How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear. 3Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me? 4Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one!
Read all of Job 14Job 14:2 word by word
כְּצִ֣יץ יָ֭צָא וַיִּמָּ֑ל וַיִּבְרַ֥ח כַּ֝צֵּ֗ל וְלֹ֣א יַעֲמֽוֹד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 14:2
- Psalms 90:5You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning.
- Psalms 92:7Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
- Psalms 103:15Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
- Isaiah 40:6A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field.
- James 1:10And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.
- James 4:14How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.
- 1 Peter 1:24As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades.
- Job 8:9For we were born but yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow.
- Job 9:25“My life passes more swiftly than a runner. It flees away without a glimpse of happiness.
- 1 Chronicles 29:15We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.
- Psalms 102:11My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows. I am withering away like grass.
- Psalms 144:4For they are like a breath of air; their days are like a passing shadow.
- Ecclesiastes 8:13The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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