Job 14 12

Job 14:12 kjv

So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

Job 14:12 nkjv

So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep.

Job 14:12 niv

so he lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, people will not awake or be roused from their sleep.

Job 14:12 esv

so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep.

Job 14:12 nlt

people are laid to rest and do not rise again.
Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up
nor be roused from their sleep.

Job 14 verses

Job 14 12 Meaning

Job 14:12 articulates humanity's perceived mortality and the finality of death from a human standpoint. It conveys Job's lament that once a person dies, they do not rise again in this earthly life. The phrase "till the heavens are no more" emphasizes the immense and seemingly indefinite period of this sleep in death, equating it with the endurance of the very cosmos. It underscores a profound sense of despair over the apparent permanence of death, contrasting the human fate with the cyclical renewal seen in nature, as discussed in the preceding verses of chapter 14. This verse captures a raw human question about mortality and the seeming absence of return from the grave.

Job 14 12 Context

Job 14:12 is embedded within Job’s profound lament (Job 12-14) concerning the brevity and frailty of human life. In this chapter, Job articulates his deep despair by contrasting the natural world's capacity for renewal—where a tree, though cut down, can sprout again (v. 7-9)—with the irreversible nature of human death (v. 10). He expresses the human condition as one of extreme weakness, born of woman, living but a few days, full of trouble (v. 1-6). Verse 12 serves as the pinnacle of this sorrowful reflection, summarizing his perception that for man, there is no hope of re-emergence from the grave once laid to rest, not until the very structure of the cosmos dissolves. It's a statement born from a period of profound suffering and a limited revelation regarding life after death, expressing Job’s current, personal assessment of human fate, not necessarily a universal theological declaration that holds true eternally after divine intervention.

Job 14 12 Word analysis

• So man lies down and does not rise;

  • man (אִישׁ - 'ish): Refers to a generic human being, emphasizing the universal experience of death for humanity. It speaks to every person's unavoidable fate.
  • lies down (שָׁכַב - shakhav): A common biblical euphemism for death, often connoting a state of permanent rest. It depicts the body physically inert in the grave, implying an absence of activity.
  • does not rise (לֹא יָקוּם - lo yaqum): "Does not stand up." The direct negation highlights the apparent finality. From Job's current perspective, once dead, there is no reawakening to earthly life by human will or natural course.

• till the heavens are no more,

  • till (עַד - 'ad): Specifies a boundary or duration. While appearing to suggest an eternal state, it crucially implies an eventual end or transformation of the heavens, however distant or improbable it might seem.
  • heavens (שָׁמַיִם - shamayim): Refers to the visible sky and by extension, the entire created cosmos. It points to the foundational elements of the existing world order.
  • are no more (בִּלְתִּי - bilti): Signifies absence, non-existence, or cessation. It expresses a radical, fundamental change or dissolution of the cosmic order.

• they will not awake or be roused from their sleep.

  • they (הֵם - hem, implied): Refers back to 'man,' confirming the continued subject of humanity in death.
  • not awake (לֹא יָקִיצוּ - lo yaqitsu): "Will not rouse themselves." Reinforces the passive state of death, indicating no self-initiated return.
  • or be roused (וְלֹא יֵעֹרוּ - v'lo ye'oru): "And will not be awakened (by another)." This parallel phrase (a Hebrew poetic device called synonymous parallelism) uses a slightly different verb emphasizing an external act of awakening, reiterating the futility of human hope for resurrection under the current cosmic order. It compounds the sense of ultimate slumber.
  • their sleep (שְׁנָתָם - shnatam): Explicitly identifies death as a state of deep, unconscious slumber. This common biblical metaphor suggests a temporary state for God's purposes, though for Job here, it feels permanently settled.

• Words-group by words-group analysis

  • "man lies down and does not rise": This phrase encapsulates Job's deep sorrow concerning the irreversibility of death from an earthly viewpoint. It underlines the stark reality that unlike a fallen tree, a person cannot spontaneously regenerate or reanimate. This reflects a prevalent ancient Near Eastern understanding before further divine revelation on resurrection.
  • "till the heavens are no more": This establishes a monumental, seemingly unachievable precondition for human awakening. It points to an end of the current cosmos, which, while an extremely distant concept to Job, ironically alludes to the ultimate eschatological event in biblical theology when a new heaven and earth will replace the old, potentially providing a new context for resurrection. It implies a divine act beyond human capacity to comprehend or effect.
  • "they will not awake or be roused from their sleep": The repetition through synonymous parallelism emphasizes the conviction of finality. This despairing assertion stands in tension with later biblical truths where God does rouse the dead, transforming "sleep" into a temporary state, yet at this point in Job's understanding, it is an absolute end.

Job 14 12 Bonus section

Job's expressions in this chapter, though seemingly devoid of immediate resurrection hope, serve a crucial purpose within the larger biblical narrative. They provide an honest, unvarnished portrayal of humanity's existential dilemma when confronted with suffering and death without the full light of divine revelation concerning the afterlife. This underscores the progressive nature of revelation, where doctrines like the general resurrection develop over time within the biblical canon (e.g., Job 19:25-27 later expresses a glimmer of hope, Daniel 12:2 is more explicit, and the New Testament, especially in Christ, fully clarifies the triumph over death). Job's despair here emphasizes the immense, even cosmic, power required for the dead to truly "awake" and highlights that only God can orchestrate such a cosmic and personal re-creation, signifying death's ultimate defeat not by human effort, but by divine design. The "heavens are no more" phrase, while indicating finality in Job's mind, is also a profound biblical reference point for eschatological renewal, where the destruction of the old creation precedes the dawn of the new, culminating in ultimate life.

Job 14 12 Commentary

Job 14:12 presents a profound statement on human mortality through the lens of Job's personal anguish. It reflects a common, pre-full-revelation human understanding that death is a final and irreversible cessation of life as we know it, extending until the very fabric of the cosmos gives way. Job’s analogy to a tree's hope of re-sprouting highlights his specific pain: even nature holds more promise of renewal than humanity. The reference to the heavens ceasing to exist is an idiomatic expression for an immeasurably long time, conveying despair over the apparent permanence of the grave. However, this human perception stands in stark contrast to later and fuller biblical revelation. The Bible gradually unveils God's sovereign power over life and death, culminating in the promises of a future general resurrection and the creation of a new heaven and new earth where death is swallowed up in victory. Thus, while Job articulates a human lament, his words unintentionally hint at a divine intervention that alone can break death's dominion by bringing about a transformed creation. This verse challenges any ancient or modern belief that humans, by their own power or through spiritual rites, can easily return from or conquer the grave apart from God's eschatological action.