Bible Strands
Job 14:20
You forever overpower him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job addresses God directly within a monologue on human mortality. He speaks from a position of personal suffering, contrasting divine permanence with human fragility.
The words — The Hebrew לָנֶצַח (laNETzach) translates literally to "to perpetuity" or "forever," while מְשַׁנֶּה פָּנָיו (meshanneh panav) means "changing his face/countenance." These terms anchor the verse's claim that God's action against a person is enduring and visibly alters them before dismissal.
The thread — The motif of God's absolute control over human lifespan runs through Job 14:14, which questions post-mortem renewal, and Ecclesiastes 8:8, which states no one holds authority over their day of death.
Why it lands — The text explicitly states that God permanently overpowers a person, alters their appearance, and sends them away. It requires the reader to acknowledge that human hope and physical presence are terminated by divine action rather than natural decay alone.
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
Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
Cross-references
- Job 2:12 When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head.
- Job 14:14 When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, until my renewal comes.
- Ecclesiastes 8:8 As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
- Lamentations 4:8 But now their appearance is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick.