Job 14:4

Job 14:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
• New International Version (NIV)Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!
• English Standard Version (ESV)Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!

Context of Job 14:4

2We 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? Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one! 5You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer. 6So leave us alone and let us rest! We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.

Job 14:4 word by word

מִֽי־יִתֵּ֣ן טָ֭הוֹר מִטָּמֵ֗א לֹ֣א אֶחָֽד׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Who can bringנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• a cleanטָהוֹרţâhôr ţâhôr · pureH2889
• out of an uncleanטָמֵאţâmê' · uncleanH2931
• not oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259

Cross-references for Job 14:4

• Job 15:14Can any mortal be pure? Can anyone born of a woman be just?
• Job 25:4How can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone born of a woman be pure?
• Genesis 5:3When Adam was 130 years old, he became the father of a son who was just like him—in his very image. He named his son Seth.
• Psalms 51:5For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
• Psalms 90:5You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning.
• John 3:6Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.
• Romans 5:12When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
• Romans 8:8That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
• Ephesians 2:3All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
• Luke 1:35The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.

Commentaries on Job 14:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Who can bring a clean thing - This verse is thus rendered by the Chaldee: "Who will produce a clean thing from man, who is polluted with sins, except God, who is one?" By Coverdale thus: Who can make it cleane, that commeth of an uncleane thinge? No body. The text refers to man's original and corrupt nature. Every man that is born into the world comes into it in a corrupt or sinful state. This is called original sin; and is derived from fallen Adam, who…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Who can bring a clean - thing “out of an unclean?” This is evidently a proverb or an adage; but its connection here is not very apparent. Probably, however, it is designed as a plea of mitigation for his conscious frailties and infirmities. He could not but admit that he had faults. But he asks, how could it be expected to be otherwise? He belonged to a race that was sinful and depraved. Connected with such a race, how could it be otherwise than that he…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. A plea in mitigation. The doctrine of original sin was held from the first. "Man is unclean from his birth, how then can God expect perfect cleanness from such a one and deal so severely with me?"Read the comment

Topics related to Job 14:4

• Depravity of Man
• Heredity
• Readings, Select
• Sin
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

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

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