Job 14 22

Job 14:22 kjv

But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.

Job 14:22 nkjv

But his flesh will be in pain over it, And his soul will mourn over it."

Job 14:22 niv

They feel but the pain of their own bodies and mourn only for themselves."

Job 14:22 esv

He feels only the pain of his own body, and he mourns only for himself."

Job 14:22 nlt

They suffer painfully;
their life is full of trouble."

Job 14 verses

Job 14 22 Meaning

Job 14:22 asserts a profoundly isolated view of human suffering and the state after death. In Job's distressed perspective, a person's existence culminates in a private and internal experience of pain—both physical agony ("the pain of his own body") and deep emotional anguish ("his soul mourns over him"). This verse concludes a lament where Job argues that upon death, individuals are entirely cut off from the affairs of the living, lacking any awareness of their descendants' future or earthly occurrences. It paints a picture of ultimate, self-contained suffering devoid of external connection or knowledge.

Job 14 22 Context

Job 14:22 serves as the concluding thought in Job's extended lament (Chapter 14) regarding the human condition, suffering, and the brevity and futility of life as he perceives it. In this chapter, Job describes humanity as fleeting, easily fading like a flower, and destined for the grave from which there is no return (Job 14:1-12). He contrasts human mortality with the apparent renewal cycles of nature, finding no such hope for humanity. He desperately wishes for a hiding place in Sheol until God's wrath passes (Job 14:13), implying a desperate hope for some future interaction, but then immediately questions its possibility. The verse at hand reinforces his despair, concluding that even if a man survives some trials (which he largely rejects as impossible given his pain), the reality is that suffering remains profoundly personal and isolating. Death is the ultimate state where awareness is restricted only to the internal experience of pain and sorrow, devoid of any knowledge or concern for the earthly realm, including one's own children or the outcomes of one's endeavors. This directly challenges any popular notions of ancestral spirits influencing the living or the dead maintaining awareness of their progeny's success, ideas that might have provided some comfort in his time. Job, in his agony, feels abandoned by both God and man, his pain entirely his own.

Job 14 22 Word analysis

• אַךְ (ʾakh): Translates as "only," "surely," "but." In this context, it functions as an intensifier, emphasizing the exclusivity and limitation of the experience described. It underscores that nothing else pertains to the suffering or the one suffering other than their direct, personal experience.
• בְּשָׂרוֹ (b'śā·rōw): "His flesh" or "his body." Derived from the Hebrew בָּשָׂר (bāśār), which encompasses the whole person in its physical, mortal, and often weak aspect. It refers to the physical frame, implying the sensory and tangible dimension of suffering. The possessive suffix emphasizes the pain is inherently his own.
• עָלָיו (ʿā·lāw): "Upon him" or "over him." This preposition indicates that the pain or mourning is dwelling within or intensely upon the individual, reinforcing the internal and subjective nature of the suffering. Its repetition adds emphasis to the self-contained agony.
• יִכְאָב (yikhʾāb): "He suffers pain," "it hurts." This verb כָּאַב (kāʾav) denotes severe, deep, and often physical pain. It describes an active, persistent sensation of agony rather than a fleeting discomfort, speaking to the intensity of his current suffering.
• וְנַפְשׁוֹ (wə·napšōw): "And his soul" or "and his being/self." נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh) is a foundational Hebrew term, meaning "life," "soul," "self," "person," "living being." It refers to the entirety of one's inner essence—mind, will, emotions, desires—the vital animating principle. Here, it denotes the spiritual, emotional, and psychological dimensions of anguish.
• תֶּאֱבָל (teʾěḇal): "It mourns," "it laments," "it grieves." From the verb אָבַל (ʾāḇal), which signifies deep, expressed sorrow and lamentation, often associated with bereavement or catastrophe. Here, it conveys profound inner grief that stems from the depths of one's being.

Words-group by Words-group analysis:

• "אַךְ בְּשָׂרוֹ עָלָיו יִכְאָב" (Only his body upon him hurts/suffers): This phrase isolates and personalizes physical agony. It declares that in his state of affliction (and extending to his perspective on death), the only pain that exists for the individual is their own physical sensation. There is no outward sharing or recognition of this pain; it is a solitary experience localized strictly within the sufferer's physical self. This underscores the intense, inward focus of Job's despair.
• "וְנַפְשׁוֹ עָלָיו תֶּאֱבָב" (And his soul upon him mourns/grieves): This parallels the previous phrase by shifting from physical pain to deep inner, emotional, or spiritual anguish. נֶפֶשׁ covers the entire vital, feeling, and thinking being. The statement implies that even the profound grief, sorrow, or lament is confined within the person's own self, a private sorrow not shared, understood, or witnessed by others, especially in the context of being cut off from earthly life. It points to a deep self-absorption in one's own misery, feeling completely isolated in emotional desolation.

The structure with repeated "עָלָיו" ("upon him") powerfully emphasizes the solipsistic nature of suffering and death in Job's view—the pain is exclusively his, and the sorrow is exclusively his.

Job 14 22 Bonus section

The profound isolation expressed in Job 14:22 also functions as a powerful polemic against certain ancient Near Eastern cultural beliefs regarding death and the afterlife. In some surrounding cultures, there was a belief that the dead, particularly ancestors, retained some awareness or even influence over their descendants, or that their glory was somehow tied to the prosperity of their lineage. Job's assertion completely negates such comfort, insisting on an absolute severing of ties and a complete lack of knowledge for the departed regarding earthly affairs, even their own children. This makes his suffering uniquely stark, removing any external source of solace, emphasizing a purely self-contained and hopeless agony within Sheol. His focus on בָּשָׂר (body/flesh) and נֶפֶשׁ (soul/being) speaks to the whole of humanity being consumed by this isolated experience. The book of Job does not endorse Job’s theological conclusions as the definitive truth but faithfully records his human wrestling with unimaginable pain and despair in the face of unanswered questions. This allows for the rich theological development that comes later in biblical revelation concerning the afterlife.

Job 14 22 Commentary

Job 14:22 serves as a bleak conclusion to Job’s profound lament over humanity's fragile and finite existence. It captures the essence of his suffering: an experience of utterly private and inescapable anguish. From Job's perspective, both physical agony and the deep-seated sorrow of the "soul" (representing his entire inner being) are intensely personal and internal. He portrays death not as a peaceful release or a continuation in a collective memory, but as the ultimate confinement within one's own suffering. This statement reflects his utter despair, where even the comfort of knowledge about his children’s welfare in the future, a traditional hope, is denied to him in the grave. This deep personal isolation in pain is a key aspect of Job's struggle, feeling cut off from divine favor and human connection, leaving him solely with his own profound distress.

For practical usage, this verse highlights the intensity of personal suffering and the isolation often felt by those in deep anguish. It reminds us:

• Empathy for the isolated: To be sensitive to those who feel their pain is unseen or unknown to others.
• The limit of human perspective: Job's perspective, while valid for his human experience of pain and limited knowledge of the afterlife in his time, is challenged by greater biblical revelation, particularly the New Testament hope of conscious existence and communion with God after death.