Job 14:20 kjv
Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
Job 14:20 nkjv
You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away.
Job 14:20 niv
You overpower them once for all, and they are gone; you change their countenance and send them away.
Job 14:20 esv
You prevail forever against him, and he passes; you change his countenance, and send him away.
Job 14:20 nlt
You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene.
You disfigure them in death and send them away.
Job 14 20 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 32:39 | "See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal..." | God's absolute power over life and death. |
| 1 Sam 2:6 | "The Lord kills and brings to life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up." | Divine prerogative over existence. |
| Ps 39:4 | "Lord, make me to know my end and what is the measure of my days..." | Human brevity and seeking understanding. |
| Ps 39:5 | "Behold, You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before You..." | Humanity's insignificance before God. |
| Ps 90:3 | "You return man to dust and say, 'Return, O children of man!'" | God's role in human demise. |
| Ps 90:5-6 | "You sweep them away as with a flood... they are like grass that flourishes in the morning and fades in the evening." | Life's swift end, divine agency. |
| Ps 102:26-27 | "They will perish, but You will remain... But You are the same, and Your years will have no end." | Contrast of transient creation and eternal God. |
| Ps 104:29 | "When You hide Your face, they are dismayed; when You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust." | God actively ending life. |
| Prov 16:9 | "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." | God's ultimate sovereignty over human fate. |
| Ecc 3:2 | "a time to be born, and a time to die..." | God ordained timings for life's events. |
| Ecc 9:12 | "...like fish caught in a cruel net, or like birds caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared in an evil time..." | Suddenness of death. |
| Isa 40:6-8 | "All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field... The grass withers, the flower fades..." | The ephemeral nature of human life. |
| Dan 4:35 | "...He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand..." | God's absolute, unopposable will. |
| Job 7:7 | "Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good." | Job's personal reflection on short life. |
| Job 9:12 | "Behold, he snatches away; who can restrain him? Who will say to him, 'What are you doing?'" | God's irresistible power. |
| Job 34:14-15 | "If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together..." | God's power to end all life at will. |
| Gen 3:19 | "...till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." | Divine decree of mortality from the Fall. |
| James 4:14 | "yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." | Extreme brevity of human life. |
| 1 Pet 1:24-25 | "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls..." | Evangelical echo of Old Testament mortality. |
| Heb 9:27 | "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment..." | The certainty and singular nature of death. |
Job 14 verses
Job 14 20 Meaning
Job 14:20 vividly portrays the overwhelming and enduring power of God in contrast to the brevity and fragility of human life. It asserts that God continually overcomes and dismisses humanity from existence, changing their very form in death. The verse highlights the divine sovereignty over life and death, emphasizing that human beings are powerless and temporary before God's eternal authority. It is a declaration of human mortality and God's absolute control over the span and end of life.
Job 14 20 Context
Job 14 continues Job's profound lament and theological reflection on the human condition in the face of suffering and death. Having earlier described humanity's inherent defilement and inability to make themselves clean before God (v. 4), Job progresses to lament the fleeting and predetermined nature of human life (vv. 5-6). He contrasts the renewal of a tree that is cut down (vv. 7-9) with humanity's irreversible descent into death (vv. 10-12), where there is no hope of earthly return until the heavens are no more. Amidst his anguish, Job even yearns for a hidden resting place in Sheol until God's wrath passes (v. 13), but immediately retracts this wish, recognizing the finality of death and his ultimate powerlessness (vv. 16-17). The verses preceding 20 (vv. 18-19) describe how nature's forces, though powerful, pale in comparison to how God "wears away" and "destroys" human hope. Verse 20 serves as a culminating statement, encapsulating Job's despair over humanity's absolute vulnerability and transient existence under the unstoppable, prevailing power of God.
Job 14 20 Word analysis
You prevail forever: This phrase describes God's attributes and action.
- You (תִּשְׂגֹּפֵהוּ - tishg'pehu): Refers to God, underscoring the direct agency of the divine in human mortality. The Hebrew verb tishg'pehu comes from a root meaning "to be high," "to be exalted," "to overpower" or "to be beyond reach." Here, it signifies God's complete dominance and irresistible might over humanity. It emphasizes an active, overwhelming force.
- prevail: Denotes God's irresistible strength and enduring victory over man. It's not a struggle, but an absolute superiority that ensures the outcome.
- forever (לָנֶצַח - lanetzakh): The Hebrew word lanetzakh means "eternally," "always," or "for perpetuity." This highlights the immutable, endless nature of God's power and decision, in stark contrast to the finite and brief lifespan of humans. It underlines the permanence of God's decree over mortality.
against him, and he passes;
- him: Refers to mankind, the collective human being whose fragility and mortality have been the subject of Job's discourse.
- and he passes (וַיַּהֲלֹךְ - vayahalokh): From the verb halakh, "to go" or "to walk," but here with a conclusive sense, meaning "he goes away," "he vanishes," or "he ceases to be." The use of the waw-conversive indicates an immediate consequence of God's prevailing, signifying the rapid and inevitable cessation of life. This phrase powerfully conveys the transience and ultimate disappearance of human existence.
You change his countenance:
- You change (שִׁנּוֹת - shinnot): The Hebrew word shanah means "to change," "to alter," or "to repeat." In this context, it implies a fundamental alteration.
- his countenance (פָּנָיו - panayv): Refers to a person's "face" or "visage." Metaphorically, it encompasses one's appearance, vitality, identity, and very essence of life. To "change one's countenance" in the context of death implies not just a physical transformation to a lifeless form but also the irreversible loss of spirit, consciousness, and the unique identity that defined the living person. It denotes a radical, existential transformation brought about by death.
and send him away.
- and send him away (וַתְּשַׁלְּחֵהוּ - vatteshal'khehu): From the verb shalach, "to send," "to dismiss," or "to release." This emphasizes God's active, decisive role in the act of death, not as a passive occurrence but as a deliberate dismissal. It underlines divine agency in man's departure from the realm of the living, sealing the finality of the human journey.
Job 14 20 Bonus section
The phrase "You change his countenance" is particularly profound, suggesting more than just the physical transformation of death. It implies a complete alteration of being—from the vibrant, active living person to a lifeless, inanimate form. This dramatic change is divinely orchestrated, underlining that even the decay and loss of individual identity in death fall under God's comprehensive control. It echoes the concept that everything in human existence, from breath to the final repose, is entirely dependent on the Creator's will.
Job 14 20 Commentary
Job 14:20 serves as a stark theological declaration, encapsulating Job’s bitter yet insightful understanding of the gulf between God’s eternal dominion and human ephemerality. The verse articulates that God does not merely allow humanity to die but actively "prevails forever" over their lives, changing their form and "sending them away." This imagery conveys an absolute, undeniable divine sovereignty, painting death not as a random event, but as an inescapable consequence of God's continuous and unchallenged authority. Humanity, in Job's view, stands powerless, subject to the divine will that decrees an end to their earthly sojourn, with no possibility of reprieve or return. This deeply resonates with the pervasive Old Testament theme of humanity's finite nature versus God's unending existence and power.