Job 14:10

New King James Version

But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he?

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But a person dies and fades away;he breathes his last—where is he?

Hebrew Names Version
But man dies, and is laid low. Yes, man gives up the spirit, and where is he?

King James Version
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?

English Standard Version
But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he?

New Century Version
But we die, and our bodies are laid in the ground; we take our last breath and are gone.

New English Translation
But man dies and is powerless; he expires—and where is he?

Amplified Bible
"But [the brave, strong] man must die and lie face down; Man breathes his last, and where is he?

New American Standard Bible
"But a man dies and lies prostrate. A person passes away, and where is he?

World English Bible
But man dies, and is laid low. Yes, man gives up the spirit, and where is he?

Geneva Bible (1587)
But man is sicke, and dyeth, and man perisheth, and where is he?

Legacy Standard Bible
But man dies and lies prostrate.Man breathes his last, and where is he?

Berean Standard Bible
But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?

Contemporary English Version
Humans are different— we die, and that's the end.

Complete Jewish Bible
But when a human being grows weak and dies, he expires; and then where is he?

Darby Translation
But a man dieth, and is prostrate; yea, man expireth, and where is he?

Easy-to-Read Version
But when a man dies, he becomes weak and sick, and then he is gone!

George Lamsa Translation
But man dies, and fades away; yea, man perishes, and he is no more.

Good News Translation
But we die, and that is the end of us; we die, and where are we then?

Lexham English Bible
"But a man dies, and he dwindles away; thus a human being passes away, and where is he?

Literal Translation
But man dies and is cut off, and man expires; and where is he?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But as for man, when he is deed, perished and consumed awaye, what becommeth of him?

American Standard Version
But man dieth, and is laid low: Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?

Bible in Basic English
But man comes to his death and is gone: he gives up his spirit, and where is he?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
But man dieth, and lieth low; yea, man perisheth, and where is he?

King James Version (1611)
But man dyeth, and wasteth away; yea, man giueth vp the ghost, and where is hee?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But as for man, when he is dead, perished, and consumed away, what becommeth of him?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
But a man that has died is utterly gone; and when a mortal has fallen, he is no more.

English Revised Version
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But whanne a man is deed, and maad nakid, and wastid; Y preye, where is he?

Update Bible Version
But [noble] man dies, and is laid low: Yes, man gives up the ghost, and where is he?

Webster's Bible Translation
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yes, man yieldeth his breath, and where [is] he?

New Living Translation
"But when people die, their strength is gone. They breathe their last, and then where are they?

New Life Bible
But man dies and is laid low. Man dies, and where is he?

New Revised Standard
But mortals die, and are laid low; humans expire, and where are they?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Yet, man, dieth, and is prostrate, Yea the son of earth doth cease to breathe, and where is he?

Douay-Rheims Bible
But man when he shall be dead, and stripped and consumed, I pray you where is he?

Revised Standard Version
But man dies, and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he?

Young's Literal Translation
And a man dieth, and becometh weak, And man expireth, and where [is] he?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But man dies and lies prostrate. Man expires, and where is he?

Contextual Overview

⁷ "For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And that its tender shoots will not cease. ⁸ Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground, ⁹ Yet at the scent of water it will bud And bring forth branches like a plant. ¹⁰ But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he? ¹¹ As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, ¹² So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep. ¹³ "Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! ¹⁴ If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes. ¹⁵ You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

wasteth away: Heb. is weakened, or, cut off

man: Job 3:11, Job 10:18, Job 11:20, Job 17:13-16, Genesis 49:33, Matthew 27:50, Acts 5:10

where is he: Job 14:12, Job 7:7-10, Job 19:26, Proverbs 14:32, Luke 16:22, Luke 16:23

Reciprocal: Job 7:9 - he Job 10:21 - I go whence Job 16:22 - whence Job 20:7 - shall say Job 27:19 - he is not Psalms 37:10 - wicked Psalms 39:13 - be no Psalms 90:10 - for Psalms 103:16 - it is gone Psalms 146:4 - His breath Ecclesiastes 3:19 - as the Ecclesiastes 11:8 - yet Zechariah 1:5 - General Matthew 2:18 - would 1 Corinthians 15:43 - weakness

Cross-References

Genesis 11:3
Then they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.

Genesis 19:17
So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he [fn] said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."

Genesis 19:30
Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave.

Joshua 8:24
And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they all had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword.

Psalms 83:10
Who perished at En Dor, Who became as refuse on the earth.

Isaiah 24:18
And it shall be That he who flees from the noise of the fear Shall fall into the pit, And he who comes up from the midst of the pit Shall be caught in the snare; For the windows from on high are open, And the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Jeremiah 48:44
"He who flees from the fear shall fall into the pit, And he who gets out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For upon Moab, upon it I will bring The year of their punishment," says the LORD.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But man dieth, and wasteth away,.... All men, every man, "Geber", the mighty man, the strong man; some die in their full strength; the wise man, notwithstanding all his wisdom and knowledge, and even skill in the art of medicine; the rich man, with all his riches, with which he cannot bribe death, nor keep it off; the great and the honourable, emperors, kings, princes, nobles, all die, and their honour is laid in the dust; yea, good men die, though Christ has died for them; even those that are the most useful and beneficial to men, the prophets of the Lord, and the ministers of his word; and it is no wonder that wicked men should die, though they put the evil day far from them, make an agreement with death, or bid it defiance, their wickedness shall not deliver from it; all men have sinned, and death passes on them, it is appointed for them to die; not their souls, which are immortal, but their bodies, which return to dust, and are only the mortal part; death is a disunion or separation of soul and body: and now when this is made, the body "wasteth away" in the grave, and becomes rottenness, dust, and worms, and does not by the strength of nature spring up again, as a tree does; though some understand, by an inversion of the phrases, a wasting before death through diseases, as if the words were to be read, "but man wasteth away and dieth" z; he is enervated by sickness, his strength is weakened in the way, and when he dies there is none left in him; he is cut off a, as some choose to render it, or cut down as a tree is; but then there is no force or natural strength in him to rise again, as in a tree:

yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where [is] he? not in the same place he was; not in his house and habitation where he lived; nor in his family, and among his friends, with whom he conversed, nor in the world, and on the earth where he did business; he is indeed somewhere, but where is he? his body is in the grave; his soul, where is that? if a good man, it is in the presence of God, where is fulness of joy; it is with Christ, which is far better than to be here; it is with the spirits of just men made perfect; it is in Abraham's bosom, feasting with him and other saints; it is in heaven, in paradise, in a state of endless joy and happiness: if a wicked man, his soul is in hell, in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels, and other damned spirits; in a prison, from whence there is no release, and in the uttermost misery and distress, banished from the divine Presence, and under a continual sense of the wrath of God.

z So the Tigurine version, Vatablus, and some in Drusius; and some Hebrews in Ramban and Bar Tzemach. a ויחלש "exciditur", Beza, Piscator, Mercerus; so Kimchi & Ben Gersom.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But man dieth and wasteth away - Margin, “Is weakened, or cut off.” The Hebrew word (חלשׁ châlash) means to overthrow, prostrate, discomfit; and hence, to be weak, frail, or waste away. The Septuagint renders it Ἀνὴρ δὲ τελευτήσας ᾤχετο Anēr de teleutēsas ōcheto - “man dying goes away.” Herder renders it,” his power is gone.” The idea is, he entirely vanishes. He leaves nothing to sprout up again. There is no germ; no shoot; no living root; no seminal principle. Of course, this refers wholly to his living again on the earth, and not to the question about his future existence. That is a different inquiry. The main idea with Job here is, that when man dies there is no germinating principle, as there is in a tree that is cut down. Of the truth of this there can be no doubt; and this comparison of man with the vegetable world, must have early occurred to mankind, and hence, led to the inquiry whether he would not live in a future state. Other flyings that are cut down, spring up again and live. But man is cut down, and does not spring up again. Will he not be likely, therefore, to have an existence in some future state, and to spring up and flourish there? “The Romans,” says Rosenmuller, “made those trees to be the symbol of death, which, being cut down, do not live again, or from whose roots no germs arise, as the pine and cypress, which were planted in burial-places, or were accustomed to be placed at the doors of the houses of the dead.”

Man giveth up the ghost - Expires, or dies. This is all that the word (גוע gâva‛) means. The notion of giving up the spirit or the ghost - an idea not improper in itself - is not found in the Hebrew word, nor is it in the corresponding Greek word in the New Testament; compare Acts 5:10.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 14:10. But man dieth — No human being ever can spring from the dead body of man; that wasteth away, corrupts, and is dissolved; for the man dies; and when he breathes out his last breath, and his body is reduced to dust, then, where is he? There is a beautiful verse in the Persian poet Khosroo, that is not unlike this saying of Job: -

[Persic]

[Persic]

[Persic]

[Persic]

"I went towards the burying ground, and wept

To think of the departure of friends which

were captives to death;

I said, Where are they! and Fate

Gave back this answer by Echo, Where are they?

Thus paraphrased by a learned friend: -

Beneath the cypress' solemn shade,

As on surrounding tombs I gazed,

I wept, and thought of friends there laid,

Whose hearts with warmest love had blazed.

Where are those friends my heart doth lack,

Whose words, in grief, gave peace? Ah, where?

And Fate, by Echo, gave me back

This short but just reply, Ah, where?