But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?
Parallel translations
- WEB But man dies, and is laid low. Yes, man gives up the spirit, and where is he?
- KJV But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
- NKJV But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he?
- NASB “But a man dies and lies prostrate. A person passes away, and where is he?
- NLT “But when people die, their strength is gone. They breathe their last, and then where are they?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Unlike a tree, man dies and seems simply to vanish. Job laments death's apparent finality for humans.
Overview
Job contrasts the tree's revival with man, who 'dies, and is laid low,' giving up his spirit, and then 'where is he?' From his limited vantage, human death looks final and irreversible. His haunting question awaits the fuller revelation of resurrection hope, secured in Christ, who answers 'where is he?' with the promise of life beyond the grave.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Job 19:26Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.
- Prov 14:32The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.
- Gen 49:33When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.
- Job 7:7–10Remember that my life is but a breath. My eyes will never again see happiness.
- Job 17:13–16If I look for Sheol as my home, if I spread out my bed in darkness,
- Job 14:12so a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no more, he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.
- Job 11:20But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.”
- Acts 5:10At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
- Luke 16:22–23One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.
- Matt 27:50When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit.
- Job 3:11Why did I not perish at birth; why did I not die as I came from the womb?
- Job 10:18Why then did You bring me from the womb? Oh, that I had died, and no eye had seen me!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 14:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.