Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Job 14:22 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 22. 22But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Job 14:22 closes the thought unit with the words “But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.” Job turns or qualifies the speech with “But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn” inside Job Says Divine Watching Erodes Human Hope.
Read It With
- Job 14:16–14:22
Read Job 14:22 with 14:16–14:22. Read alone, “But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn” could lose its speaker, the question or claim it develops, and the unit's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Job imagines transgression sealed up yet hope washed away like stone and soil, while the dead know neither family honor nor humiliation.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Job continues from Job 14:7–14:15: Job contrasts a cut tree that sprouts again with a human who dies, then imagines being hidden in Sheol until God calls and longs for the work of his hands. Job 14:16–14:22 now develops the next distinct movement: Job imagines transgression sealed up yet hope washed away like stone and soil, while the dead know neither family honor nor humiliation. Within that relationship, Job 14:22 closes the thought unit through “But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.”
Read Job 14:16–22 together
Why these verses belong together: Job 14:16–14:22 follows the pinned KJV paragraphing and holds together one sustained speech movement: “Job Says Divine Watching Erodes Human Hope.” The next unit begins with a new stanza, question sequence, scene, speaker response, or rhetorical turn.
Verse 16. 16 For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?
Verse 17. 17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.
Verse 18. 18 And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place.
Verse 19. 19 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.
Verse 20. 20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
Verse 21. 21 His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
Verse 22. 22 But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
What Remains True
Job imagines transgression sealed up yet hope washed away like stone and soil, while the dead know neither family honor nor humiliation. Hope and mortality questions should be preserved at the strength the wording supports, distinguishing Job's immediate horizon from later canonical reception. Job 14:22 carries that bounded truth through “But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.”
How It Can Shape Life
- When teaching Job 14:16–14:22, distinguish what Job hopes, fears, asks, or imagines from later resurrection reception; state the uncertainty before offering comfort and never use death language to reduce present care. Preserve this unit-specific boundary in the action: This is Job's lamenting horizon, not a complete canonical doctrine of death or proof that God delights in destroying hope. The verse-specific evidence to retain is “But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.”
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Job 14:16–14:22 — Job Says Divine Watching Erodes Human HopeSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Job 14:16–14:22, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Job
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Job.xml, OSIS 14:16–14:22
Open the fixed Hebrew Job file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Job
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Job's difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, textual issues, speech boundaries, and alternatives in Job 14:16–14:22.
Exact location: Official NET Job PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Job 14:16–14:22
Open the official NET Job PDF ↗