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.

JOB 14:19KJV
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Job 14:19 (KJV)

What does Job 14:19 mean?

Job 14:19 uses images from nature—water wearing away stone and plants being washed away from the soil—to describe how unstoppable forces eventually destroy even the strongest things, just as God brings an end to human hope. The verse expresses Job’s sense of how human life and hope are fragile and ultimately swept away by forces beyond control.

In this verse, Job is speaking to God as he laments his suffering and the seeming hopelessness of human existence. The comparison to water eroding stone and plants being washed away from dust shows how time and hardship wear down even the most solid things. Job’s words reflect his deep feeling that, just as nature cannot resist these forces, people cannot hold onto hope in the face of death and God’s will.

The Hebrew behind Job 14:19

  • "waters" (מַיִם, mayim): This word means water in general, and here it represents a slow but relentless force that wears down even hard stones, emphasizing the idea of gradual but certain destruction.
  • "wear" (שָׁחַק, shachaq): This verb means to wear away or erode. It highlights how even the hardest things are not immune to being worn down over time.
  • "destroyest" (אָבַד, avad): This word means to destroy or make perish. Job uses it to describe how God ultimately brings an end to human hope, just as nature destroys what seems solid or alive.
  • "hope" (תִּקְוָה, tiqvah): This word means hope or expectation. Its use here underlines the emotional weight of the verse—Job feels that not just life, but even the hope that sustains people, is eventually taken away.

Why Job 14:19 matters

  • Job 14:19 clarifies that Job is not just talking about physical suffering, but about the deep emotional and existential loss that comes when hope itself is destroyed.
  • The verse connects Job’s personal pain to universal experiences in nature, making his lament relatable to anyone who has felt worn down by life’s hardships.
  • This verse sets the stage for the rest of Job’s speech, showing how he sees human life as vulnerable and at the mercy of forces—both natural and divine—that cannot be resisted.

Where else these words appear

“wear” Hebrew H7833 · used in 4 verses

  • Exodus 30:36 And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
  • 2 Samuel 22:43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.
  • Psalms 18:42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

“grow” Hebrew H5599 · used in 5 verses

  • Leviticus 25:5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
  • Leviticus 25:11 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
  • 2 Kings 19:29 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.

“away” Hebrew H7857 · used in 30 verses

  • Leviticus 6:28 But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water.
  • Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
  • Jeremiah 8:6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.

“hope” Hebrew H8615 · used in 33 verses

  • Joshua 2:18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.
  • Job 14:7 For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
  • Proverbs 23:18 For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.