The Meaning of Job 14:2 Explained

Job 14:2

KJV: He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

YLT: As a flower he hath gone forth, and is cut off, And he fleeth as a shadow and standeth not.

Darby: He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; and he fleeth as a shadow, and continueth not.

ASV: He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: He fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He cometh forth  like a flower,  and is cut down:  he fleeth  also as a shadow,  and continueth  not. 

What does Job 14:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 14:1-22 - Shall Man Live Again?
Continuing his appeal, Job looks from his own case to the condition of mankind generally, Job 14:1-6. All men are frail and full of trouble, Job 14:12; why should God bring a creature so weak into judgment with Him? Job 14:3. The sinfulness of man is universal-not one can be proved clean before God, Job 14:4. Since man is so frail Job pleads that he may not have such unwonted affliction, but may get some pleasure, Job 14:6, r.v., out of his brief day.
The anticipation of death as total extinction strengthens Job's appeal, Job 14:7-12. Of a tree there is hope that, if cut down, it will sprout again, Job 14:7-9. But at present Job sees no such hope for man. He dies, and is done with, as waters "fail from the sea," Job 14:10-12. This is a gloomy, despairing thought, and one against which the mind rebels as soon as uttered. Against the belief that death is the end of all things every man's better nature revolts. Hence the picture of another life beyond the present immediately rises to Job, Job 14:13-15. It may be only a yearning desire, for Job still asks the question, Job 14:14. Yet this desire, as that for a Daysman, Job 9:32-34, both suggested by the heart's despair, is equally answered by the gospel.
The hope for a future life is made stronger by the apparent injustices that exist now, Job 14:16-22. God's treatment of Job appears to be so severe that Job must perish under His hand, Job 14:18-22. A future life is surely necessary to remedy the inequalities of the present. Evidently this is not the place and time of judgment. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 14

1  Job entreats God for favor, by the shortness of life, and certainty of death
7  He waits for his change
16  By sin the creature is subject to corruption

What do the individual words in Job 14:2 mean?

Like a flower He comes forth and fades away and He flees like a shadow and not does continue
כְּצִ֣יץ יָ֭צָא וַיִּמָּ֑ל וַיִּבְרַ֥ח כַּ֝צֵּ֗ל וְלֹ֣א יַעֲמֽוֹד

כְּצִ֣יץ  Like  a  flower 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: צִיץ 
Sense: flower, bloom.
יָ֭צָא  He  comes  forth 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
וַיִּמָּ֑ל  and  fades  away 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלַל 
Sense: (Qal) to circumcise, become clipped, be circumcised, be cut off.
וַיִּבְרַ֥ח  and  He  flees 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּרַח 
Sense: to go through, flee, run away, chase, drive away, put to flight, reach, shoot (extend), hurry away.
כַּ֝צֵּ֗ל  like  a  shadow 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: צֵל  
Sense: shadow, shade.
וְלֹ֣א  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יַעֲמֽוֹד  does  continue 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.