You forever prevail against him, and he departs. You change his face, and send him away.
Parallel Translations
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You forever prevail against him, and he departs. You change his face, and send him away.
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Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
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Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth; Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Job 14:20 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 2:12 When they lifted up their eyes from a distance, and didn’t recognize him, they raised their voices, and wept; and they each tore his robe, and sprinkled dust on their heads toward the sky.
- Job 14:14 If a man dies, will he live again? I would wait all the days of my warfare, until my release should come.
- Ecclesiastes 8:8 There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.
- Lamentations 4:8 Their appearance is blacker than a coal. They are not known in the streets. Their skin clings to their bones. It is withered. It has become like a stick.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 14:20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and…
Job 14:20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
Ver. 20. Thou prevailest for ever against him] This, and the rest of the words to the end of the chapter, some make to be the application of the similitudes; others an amplification only of what he had said, Thou destroyest the hope of man. Thou must needs, when thou over match and over master him, and art never worsted. Exo 15:3, the Lord is called, "A man of war"; the Chaldee there hath it, The Lord and Victor of wars. And the word here rendered "ever" cometh from a root that signifieth to finish, conquer, and triumph.
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And he passeth] sc. Out of the world by a violent or untimely death, Violenta morte aut certe immatura (Merlin), with as ill a will many times as the unjust steward did out of his office, as the Jebusites did out of the fort of Zion, or as the devil out of the demoniac. Sed voluntas Dei necessitas rei; he passeth, because he can neither will nor choose, as they say.
Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away] Eleganter vero mors notatur, immutandi verbo, saith one, Elegantly is death set forth by changing the countenance: for death taketh away the fair and fresh colour of a man, and makes him look wan and withered, pale and ghastly. It is easy to see death, many times, before it come, in the sick man’s face, Facies Hippocratica, in his sharp nostrils, thin cheeks, hollow eyes, &c., those harbingers of death, whereby God sendeth for him, and so sendeth him away, extrudit et amandat, as once he did Adam out of Paradise. Lavater’s note here is, Propone tibi semper horribilem speciem morris, ut eo minus pecces, Set before thyself always the horrid face of death, to restrain thee from sin.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain When once thou takest away this life, it is…
When once thou takest away this life, it is gone for ever; for he speaks not here of man’s future and eternal life in another world.
He passeth, i.e. he dieth, or is about to die. Man’s death is oft called a passage, or a going, to intimate that it is not an annihilation, but only a translation of him into another place and state. His countenance; either,
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1. His visage, which by death and its harbingers is quite transformed in colour and shape, as we see by daily experience. Or,
2. The face and state of his affairs, as to worldly riches, and pleasures, and honours, all which he leaves behind him.
Sendest him away to his long home by death.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Thou prevailest for ever against him,.... God is a…
Thou prevailest for ever against him,.... God is a more than a match for man, in anything, in everything; there is no contending with him, or standing against him, he is stronger than he, and always prevails; there is no withstanding any disease, and the force of it, when he sends it; it is a messenger and servant of his, it goes at his command, and does what he bids it do; and all the art and power of man cannot resist it, or hinder what God would have done by it; and so death itself is irresistible; what is stronger than death? it is a king that reigns with a despotic power; it reigns irresistibly, victoriously, and triumphantly; it prevails over all men, in all ages, and will do to the end of the world; no man has power over his spirit to retain it one moment, when death comes to separate it from the body: and this prevalence of God by death over men will be for ever; the grave is man's long home, to which he is brought by death, and he will never return from it more, to come again into this world, and be about the business of it as now;
and he passeth; out of the world, and is seen no more in it; death is a going the way of all flesh, a departure out of this life, and to it man never usually returns more; he goes to Hades, to the invisible place, and makes his appearance no more here; see Psa 37:35;
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thou changest his countenance; at death; the forerunners of death will change a man's countenance, pains, and diseases of body; by these God makes man's beauty to consume like the moth; the fear of death will change a man's countenance, as the handwriting on the wall did Belshazzar's, Dan 5:9; even such who have out-braved death, and pretended to have made a covenant and agreement with it, yet when the king of terrors is presented to them, they are seized with a panic, their hearts ache, and their countenances turn pale; but oh! what a change is made by death itself, which for this reason is represented as riding on a pale horse; Rev 6:8; when the rosy florid looks of man are gone, his comeliness turned into corruption, his countenance pale and meagre, his eyes hollow and sunk, his nose sharp pointed, his ears contracted, and jaws fallen, and his complexion altered, and still more when laid in the grave, and he is turned to rottenness, dust, and worms:
and sendeth him away; giveth him a dismission from this world; sendeth him out of it, from his house, his family, friends, and acquaintance: his birth is expressed often by his coming into the world, and his death by going out of it; for here he has no continuance, no abiding, no rest; and yet there is no departure till God gives him dismission by death, then he sends him away from hence; some in wrath, whom he sends to take up their abode with devils and damned spirits; others in love, to prevent their being involved in evils coming upon the earth, and to be in better company, with God and Christ, with angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect: Maimonides interprets this of Adam (r), who, when he changed the object of his countenance, and looked on the forbidden fruit, was sent out of paradise.
(r) Moreh Nevochim, par. 1. c. 2. p. 5.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Prevailest - When once thou takest away this life,…
Prevailest - When once thou takest away this life, it is gone forever. Sendest - To his long home.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 20. Thou prevailest for ever against him] It…
Verse 20. Thou prevailest for ever against him] It is impossible for him to withstand thee: every stroke of thine brings him down.
Thou changest his countenance] Probably an allusion to the custom of covering the face, when the person was condemned, and sending him away to execution. See the case of Haman, in the note on Esther, See Clarke on Es 7:8.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Job 14:20. Thou prevailest for ever against him —…
Job 14:20. Thou prevailest for ever against him — When once thou takest away this life, it is gone for ever; for he speaks not here of man’s future and eternal life in another world. And he passeth — That is, he dieth: man’s death is often called a passage or a going, to intimate that it is not an annihilation, but only a translation of him into another place and state. Thou changest his countenance — That is, his visage, which, by death and its harbingers, is quite altered, both in colour and shape. When a man has been a few days sick, how apparent is the change in his countenance! and much more when he has been a few minutes dead! The countenance that was majestic and awful, becomes mean and despicable; that which was lovely and amiable, becomes ghastly and frightful! Where then is the admired beauty? Nay, the approach of death will frequently, through discomposing the mind, make the strongest and stoutest to change countenance: it will make the most cheerful and smiling countenance to look grave and serious, and the most bold and daring to look pale and timorous. By changing his countenance, may also be meant changing the face and state of his affairs, as to worldly riches, pleasures, and honours; all which he leaves behind him. Thou sendest him away — To his long home, by death.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Thou prevailest forever against him - Thou dost always…
Thou prevailest forever against him - Thou dost always show that thou art stronger than he is. He never shows that he is able to contend with God.
And he passeth - He cannot stand before thee, but is vanquished, and passes off the stage of being.
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Thou changest his countenance - Possibly the allusion is to the change produced by death. The countenance that glowed with health and was flushed with beauty and hope - blooming as the rose - is made pale as the lily under the hand of God. What an affecting exhibition of the power of God!
And sendest him away - This language seems to be that of expectation that man would still live though he was sent away; but all his hopes on earth were blasted, and he went away from his friends and possessions to return no more.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Strengthened. Septuagint, "driven away." (Pagnin, &c.) --- "Thou wilt…
Strengthened. Septuagint, "driven away." (Pagnin, &c.) --- "Thou wilt treat him harshly." (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain prevailest--dost overpower by superior strength.
prevailest--dost overpower by superior strength.
passeth--dieth.
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changest countenance--the change in the visage at death. Differently (Dan 5:9).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 20. Thou prevailest — Existence is made up of…
20. Thou prevailest — Existence is made up of assaults upon the health and life of man. Subtle disease, unforeseen calamity, fickle temperatures, carking sorrow, “the arrow that flieth by day,” and the terror that lurketh in the night, are God’s agents ever hurtling against the citadel of life and calling aloud, “Eternity is near.”
Thou changest his countenance —
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Decay is the seal death stamps upon its victim in token of victory. “I am not so much afraid of death as ashamed thereof. ‘Tis the very disgrace and ignominy of our nature, that in a moment can so disfigure us that our nearest friends, wife and children, stand afraid, and start at us.” — Sir Thomas Browne.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 20. thou changest his countenance] A graphic and pathetic…
20. thou changest his countenance] A graphic and pathetic description of death. The word “prevailest against,” i. e. overpowerest him, refers to the last conflict and the final stroke, cf. ch. Job_15:24.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Thou prevailset for ever against him, and he passeth;…
Thou prevailset for ever against him, and he passeth; rather, thou puttest forth thy power against him perpetually; i.e. thou art continually oppressing him, and crushing him by afflictions; and the consequence is that "he passes;" i.e. "he passes away, disappears, ceases to be." Thou changest his countenance. "Alterest," i.e, "its expression from cheerfulness to sadness, and its complexion from the hue of health to the sickly pallor of disease; settest the stamp of death upon it, and further disfigurest it in the dreadful process of decay." And sendest him away. That is to say, "Thou removest him from the earth, dismissest him to Sheol, where thenceforth he remains?"
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
Job_14:20
Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
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Mans mittimus
I. The change. The human countenance an instructive book. All its changes are not of Gods working, or ordering. The sharp lines of greed, the curves of pride, the flush of sensuality, etc. These are the brands of sin and Satan; sin ploughs furrows as well as time.
1. There is the change made by time. From infancy to age the face is continually undergoing alteration. Smoothness gives place to wrinkles; freshness to the worn, wan hue of age. The mirror is a solemn teacher.
2. The change made by care. Jobs friends did not recognise him; sorrow dims the eye; anxiety makes its woe mark on features. Nehemiah before the king. Hezekiah.
3. The change by sickness. Pain prints the proofs of its presence there; in sunken eye and snowy pallor, sickness sets its seal upon the face.
4. The change by death. Death is a sculptor who carves his own image in the white marble of the dying frame.
5. The change by grace. The influence of religion on the countenance. The surface of a lake, when overspread with clouds or reflecting the shining of the sun. Who does not know some dear and saintly face, with little of earth and much of heaven in it, waiting at the Beautiful Gate until God opens the temple door for them, and they pass into the glory that excelleth? Stephens face before the Jewish council.
6. The change in glory. Resurrection glory. We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. But the change of grace, and the change in glory are only consequent on a change of heart.
II. The sending.
1. Who sends him? Thou. In Gods hands are the issues of life. When He says, Go, none may resist His mandate. Mans folly in using life, ay, wasting it as though it were his own, and at his own disposal. O spare me, that I may recover strength, etc.
2. From what is he sent? From probation. Now is the day of salvation, only now. From possessions. We brought nothing into the world, and it is certain, etc. From privileges. Prayer, Word, Sanctuary, Sabbaths, etc. From pleasures. Rejoice, O young man, in the days, etc. From mercies. That flower does not bloom beyond the river. Let the Christian remember also that he is sent from--
(1) Temptation.
(2) Sorrow.
(3) Sin.
(4) Death.
3. Whither is he sent? He giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
(1) To the grave.
(2) To judgment.
(3) To heaven. To hell.
(4) To a fixed and final destiny. In order to answer this question we must inquire, How he died? For them that sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
4. Where is he sent? If the goodman of the house had known, etc. (J. Jackson Wray.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Job continues speaking to God.
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You always defeat him
The word "him" refers to any person. AT: "You always defeat man" or "You always defeat people"
he passes away
Passing away represents dying. AT: "he dies" (See: Euphemism)
you change his face
Possible meanings are 1) the pain just before dying makes his face contract or 2) when a person dies, God makes the person's face look different.
send him away to die
This represents causing him to die. (See: Metaphor)
if they are brought low
Being brought low represents being shamed. AT: "if they are disgraced" or "if people shame them" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
honor
lowly
mourn
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.