And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place.

JOB 14:18KJV
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Job 14:18 (KJV)

What does Job 14:18 mean?

Job 14:18 uses the image of a mountain collapsing and a rock being moved from its place to express how even the most solid and enduring things can be brought to nothing. Job is describing the certainty and power of destruction or change, showing that nothing in creation is truly permanent.

In this verse, Job is speaking to his friends as he reflects on the frailty of human life and the seeming inevitability of suffering and loss. By comparing human existence to mountains and rocks—symbols of strength and stability—Job highlights how even the strongest things in nature can fall apart, just as people’s lives can be overturned by hardship.

The Hebrew behind Job 14:18

  • "mountain" (הַר, har): This word often represents something grand, stable, and unmovable. Job’s use of it underscores how even the greatest things are not immune to collapse.
  • "falling" (נָפַל, naphal): This verb means to fall or collapse, emphasizing a sudden or dramatic change from strength to ruin.
  • "nought" (בָּלָה, balah): This word means to wear away or come to nothing, stressing the idea of gradual decay or total loss.
  • "rock" (צוּר, tsur): This term refers to a large, solid rock or boulder, another image of strength that can still be dislodged.
  • "removed" (שָׁחַק, shachaq): This verb means to be moved or worn away, suggesting that even what seems immovable can be shifted from its place.
  • "place" (מָקוֹם, maqom): This word simply means a fixed spot or position, highlighting the idea of being uprooted from where one belongs.

Why Job 14:18 matters

  • Job’s imagery clears up any idea that strength or stability—whether in nature or in life—guarantees lasting security, making his lament about human frailty more vivid.
  • The verse sets the tone for Job’s ongoing argument that human suffering is not always a result of personal failure, but part of the larger reality that even the strongest things can be undone.
  • By connecting the fate of mountains and rocks to human experience, Job’s words invite readers to consider the limits of human control and the unpredictable nature of life.

Where else these words appear

“removed” Hebrew H6275 · used in 9 verses

  • Genesis 12:8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
  • Job 9:5 Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.
  • Job 32:15 They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off speaking.

“surely” Hebrew H199 · used in 19 verses

  • Genesis 28:19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
  • 1 Samuel 25:34 For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
  • Job 12:7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

“nought” Hebrew H5034 · used in 21 verses

  • Exodus 18:18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
  • Proverbs 30:32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
  • Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

“rock” Hebrew H6697 · used in 74 verses

  • Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
  • 1 Chronicles 11:15 Now three of the thirty captains went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the host of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim.
  • Psalms 81:16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.