Bible Strands
Job 14:19
as water wears away the stones and torrents wash away the soil, so You destroy a man’s hope.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job speaks to God directly, cataloging the physical decay of creation while reflecting on his own deteriorating condition and the certainty of his approaching death.
The words — The Hebrew שָׁחֲקוּ (Sha.cha.ku) translates literally as "they rub away" or grind down, paired with מַיִם (Ma.yim) "waters" to describe the mechanical wearing of אֲבָנִים ('a.va.Nim) "stones."
The thread — The erosion of hope recurs in Job 7:6 where days end without hope, Job 19:10 where hope is uprooted like a tree, and Job 27:8 where the godless face hopelessness when God removes life.
Why it lands — The verse states that God actively dismantles human hope through the same inevitable processes that wear down stone and soil, requiring the reader to acknowledge that human expectations collapse under divine sovereignty.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.
Cross-references
- Job 7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.
- Job 19:10 He tears me down on every side until I am gone; He uproots my hope like a tree.
- Job 27:8 For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
- Genesis 6:17 And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish.
- Genesis 7:21 And every living thing that moved upon the earth perished—birds, livestock, animals, every creature that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind.
- Psalms 30:6 In prosperity I said, “I will never be shaken.”
- Ezekiel 37:11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’
- Luke 12:19 Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’