Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version As the water of a lake dries up or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, New Living Translation As water evaporates from a lake and a river disappears in drought, English Standard Version As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up, Berean Standard Bible As water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and dry, King James Bible As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: New King James Version As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, New American Standard Bible “As water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dried up, NASB 1995 “As water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dried up, NASB 1977 “As water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dried up, Legacy Standard Bible As water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dried up, Amplified Bible “As water evaporates from the sea, And a river drains and dries up, Christian Standard Bible As water disappears from a lake and a river becomes parched and dry, Holman Christian Standard Bible As water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and dry, American Standard Version As the waters fail from the sea, And the river wasteth and drieth up; Contemporary English Version We are like streams and lakes after the water has gone; English Revised Version As the waters fail from the sea, and the river decayeth and drieth up; GOD'S WORD® Translation [As] water drains out of a lake, or [as] a river dries up completely, Good News Translation Like rivers that stop running, and lakes that go dry, International Standard Version As water disappears from the sea, or water evaporates from a river, Majority Standard Bible As water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and dry, NET Bible As water disappears from the sea, or a river drains away and dries up, New Heart English Bible As the waters fail from the sea, and the river wastes and dries up, Webster's Bible Translation As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: World English Bible As the waters fail from the sea, and the river wastes and dries up, Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionWaters have gone away from a sea, "" And a river becomes waste and dry. Young's Literal Translation Waters have gone away from a sea, And a river becometh waste and dry. Smith's Literal Translation The waters departed from the sea, and the river will be wasted and dried up; Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleAs if the waters should depart out of the sea, and an emptied river should be dried up: Catholic Public Domain Version It is as if the waters had receded from the sea and an emptied river had dried up; New American Bible As when the waters of a lake fail, or a stream shrivels and dries up, New Revised Standard Version As waters fail from a lake, and a river wastes away and dries up, Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleAs the waters fail from the sea, and a river becomes desolate and dries up; Peshitta Holy Bible Translated Waters disappear from the sea, and a river dwindles and dries up OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917As the waters fail from the sea, And the river is drained dry; Brenton Septuagint Translation For the sea wastes in length of time, and a river fails and is dried up. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Job Laments the Finality of Death…10But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he? 11As water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and dry, 12so a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no more, he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.… Cross References Psalm 103:15-16 As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field; / when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more. James 4:14 You 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. Isaiah 40:6-8 A 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. / The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. / The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” Psalm 90:5-6 You sweep them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning— / in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers. 1 Peter 1:24 For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, Isaiah 64:6 Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. Ecclesiastes 12:7 before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. / For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. / So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Psalm 39:4-5 “Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is. / You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. / It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. / It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Isaiah 51:12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass? 2 Samuel 14:14 For we will surely die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life, but He devises ways that the banished one may not be cast out from Him. Hebrews 9:27 Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, Psalm 78:39 He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. / For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. Treasury of Scripture As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decays and dries up: the flood Job 6:15-18 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away; … Jeremiah 15:18 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? Jump to Previous Decayeth Disappears Drained Dried Dries Drieth Dry Fail Flood Lake Parched Pool Recede River Riverbed Sea Waste Wastes Wasteth Water WatersJump to Next Decayeth Disappears Drained Dried Dries Drieth Dry Fail Flood Lake Parched Pool Recede River Riverbed Sea Waste Wastes Wasteth Water WatersJob 14 1. Job entreats God for favor, by the shortness of life, and certainty of death7. He waits for his change 16. By sin the creature is subject to corruption As water disappears from the sea This phrase evokes the imagery of water, a vital and life-sustaining element, vanishing from its source. In the ancient Near Eastern context, water was a symbol of life and abundance. The sea, often representing chaos and the unknown, is here depicted as losing its water, suggesting a reversal of natural order. This imagery can be connected to the transience of human life, as seen in other biblical passages like Psalm 103:15-16, which compares human life to grass that withers. The sea's depletion may also symbolize the judgment and desolation that come upon nations, as seen in prophetic literature such as Isaiah 19:5, where the Nile's drying up signifies Egypt's downfall. and a river becomes parched and dry Persons / Places / Events 1. JobThe central figure in the Book of Job, a man described as blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He undergoes severe trials and suffering, prompting deep reflections on life, suffering, and divine justice. 2. Uz The land where Job lived, often associated with the region east of Israel. It serves as the backdrop for the events of the Book of Job. 3. Job's Friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, who visit Job to offer comfort but end up engaging in debates about the nature of suffering and divine justice. 4. God The ultimate authority and sovereign being, whose justice and wisdom are central themes in the Book of Job. 5. The Sea and River Natural elements used metaphorically by Job to illustrate the transient nature of life and the inevitability of death. Teaching Points The Transience of LifeJob uses the imagery of water disappearing to remind us of the fleeting nature of life. Just as rivers dry up, our lives are temporary and should be lived with an awareness of eternity. The Inevitability of Change The drying of rivers symbolizes inevitable change and loss. Christians are encouraged to find stability in their faith, knowing that God remains constant even when circumstances change. Trust in God's Sovereignty Despite life's uncertainties, believers are called to trust in God's sovereign plan. Job's reflections point us to a deeper reliance on God's wisdom and timing. Hope Beyond the Present While Job laments the brevity of life, the Christian hope lies in the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ. This hope should shape our perspective and priorities. Reflecting on Mortality Job's metaphor invites us to reflect on our mortality and the legacy we leave behind. It challenges us to live purposefully and in alignment with God's will.(11) As the waters fail from the sea seems commonly to have been misunderstood from its having been taken as a comparison; but there is no particle denoting comparison in the Hebrew. Moreover, the water never fails from the sea, nor do great rivers like the Nile or the Euphrates ever dry up. The comparison that is implied, but not expressed, is one of contrariety. The waters will have failed from the sea, and the rivers will have wasted and become dry, and yet the man who hath lain down (in death) will not arise: i.e., sooner than that shall happen, the sea will fail and the great rivers become dry. This appears to give a sense far better and more appropriate to the context. The Authorised Version obscures the obvious meaning of the passage by the introduction of the "as," which is not wanted. There is no hope of any future life, still less of any resurrection here; but neither can we regard the language as involving an absolute denial of it. What Job says is equally true even in full view of the life to come and of the resurrection; indeed, there seems to glimmer the hope of an ardent though unexpressed longing, through the very language that is used. At all events, the statement uttered so confidently is not proof against the inevitable doubt involved in Job 14:14.Verse 11. - As the waters fail from the sea. The allusion seems to be to the actual desiccation of seas and rivers. Job, apparently, had known instances of both. A formation of new land in the place, of sea is always going on at the head of the Persian Gulf, through the deposits of the Tigris and Euphrates; and this formation was very rapid in ancient times, when the head of the gulf was narrower. The desiccation of river-courses is common in Mesopotamia, where arms thrown out by the Tigris and Euphrates get blocked, and then silted up. And the flood decayeth and drieth up; rather, and the river decayeth etc. (see the comment on the preceding clause). Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew As waterמַ֭יִם (ma·yim) Noun - masculine plural Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen disappears אָֽזְלוּ־ (’ā·zə·lū-) Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural Strong's 235: To go away, to disappear from מִנִּי־ (min·nî-) Preposition Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of the sea יָ֑ם (yām) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 3220: A sea, the Mediterranean Sea, large river, an artifical basin and a river וְ֝נָהָ֗ר (wə·nā·hār) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 5104: A stream, prosperity becomes parched יֶחֱרַ֥ב (ye·ḥĕ·raḇ) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 2717: To parch, to desolate, destroy, kill and dry, וְיָבֵֽשׁ׃ (wə·yā·ḇêš) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 3001: To be ashamed, confused, disappointed, to dry up, wither Links Job 14:11 NIVJob 14:11 NLT Job 14:11 ESV Job 14:11 NASB Job 14:11 KJV Job 14:11 BibleApps.com Job 14:11 Biblia Paralela Job 14:11 Chinese Bible Job 14:11 French Bible Job 14:11 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Job 14:11 As the waters fail from the sea (Jb) |
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