Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.
Parallel translations
- WEB Look away from him, that he may rest, until he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day.
- BSB look away from him and let him rest, so he can enjoy his day as a hired hand.
- NKJV Look away from him that he may rest, Till like a hired man he finishes his day.
- NASB “Look away from him so that he may rest, Until he fulfills his day like a hired worker.
- NLT So leave us alone and let us rest! We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.
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
Job asks God to give frail man some rest in his brief life. He pleads for relief like a hired worker awaiting day's end.
Overview
Job requests that God look away so that man may rest until he finishes his day like a hireling. He longs for respite within the appointed span of life. The image of a laborer awaiting the close of his shift conveys both life's toil and the rest the weary soul desires, a rest ultimately found in God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Job 7:19How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
- Ps 39:13O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.
- Job 7:1–2Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?
- Job 10:20Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,
- Job 7:16I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.
- Matt 20:1–8For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 14:6 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.