If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil,
Parallel translations
- WEB Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stock dies in the ground,
- KJV Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
- NKJV Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground,
- NASB “Though its roots grow old in the ground, And its stump dies in the dry soil,
- NLT Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays,
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
Even when a tree's roots age and its stump dies, life can return. Apparent death need not be final for a tree.
Overview
Continuing the image, Job notes that though a tree's root grows old and its stump dies in the ground, it is not necessarily finished. He builds the case that the tree has a kind of hope humans seem to lack. The verse heightens the contrast that drives his lament over mortality.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 1 Cor 15:36You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
- Isa 26:19Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.
- John 12:24Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
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 14:8 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.