“Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse emphasizes that being "born of a woman" is the root of human frailty, not just a biological fact. This simple phrase points to our inherent weakness and susceptibility to suffering, a direct contrast to God's unfailing strength. It highlights that our very existence begins with vulnerability, making our lives inherently short and prone to distress.
“Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job shifts from arguing with God about his own suffering to reflecting on the universal misery of humankind. He points out that because humans are born of women, they are inherently frail, destined for a short life filled with hardship and anxiety. This observation serves as a preface to his contemplation of death and the possibility of an afterlife.
Why does the Bible start with 'Man who is born of a woman'? It's more than just biology; it points to the very core of our human condition.
Job opens this chapter by highlighting a fundamental truth: our origin from a woman. This isn't just a biological statement; it’s a statement about inherent frailty.
The Weaker Vessel
Commentators note that the phrase "born of a woman" often implies weakness. In ancient cultures, and even today, women were and are seen as the physically more delicate sex. Our very beginning, then, is tied to this inherent vulnerability. We come into existence through a process marked by the woman's own potential struggles and limitations.
A Shared Condition
This phrase also emphasizes that every person, without exception, shares this condition. Unlike the first man, Adam, who was directly formed by God, all subsequent humanity comes through the process of natural birth. This universalizes the experience of being "of few days and full of trouble."
Life feels short and difficult. Is this just a pessimistic outlook, or a profound theological observation?
Job's declaration that humanity is "of few days and full of trouble" is a stark, yet accurate, assessment of the human experience.
The Fleeting Nature of Life
"Few days" is a constant refrain in Scripture. Compared to the vastness of eternity, or even the longer lifespans of early generations, our years are brief. This brevity isn't just a statistic; it's a fundamental aspect of our created order. We are temporary beings in a transient world.
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The Pervasive Reality of Trouble
The phrase "full of trouble" speaks to the depth and breadth of human suffering. It's not just occasional hardship, but a state of being saturated with anxieties, fears, pains, and sorrows. This trouble isn't limited to those experiencing extreme affliction; it's the common lot, the background hum of existence for everyone.
An Argument for Compassion
Job uses this bleak assessment not to despair, but to make a case. By understanding the inherent weakness and suffering of humanity, he implies that such creatures are objects deserving of God's compassion rather than His severe judgment.
Understand the original words
adam · Hebrew Noun
General term for humanity, often emphasizing the frailty, mortality, and physical nature of humans as distinct from God.
rogez · Hebrew Noun
A state of distress, suffering, agitation, or toil; often used to describe the painful consequences of the fall or the inherent difficulties of life in a fallen world.
This Psalm echoes Job's sentiment directly, stating that human life's span is typically seventy years, or eighty if one is especially strong, but even then, these days are filled with struggle and sorrow, quickly passing before we fly away.
Ecclesiastes 1:2The Preacher powerfully states, 'Vanity of vanities; all is vanity,' capturing the same sense of futility and transient suffering that Job expresses about human existence.
James 4:14James reminds us that life is like a mist that appears for a short time and then vanishes, reinforcing Job's point about the brevity and ephemerality of human days.
Genesis 3:17-19This passage shows the origin of man's 'trouble' and shortened days, directly linking the fall into sin with a cursed ground, painful toil, and eventual return to dust.
jfbJob 14:1: "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble."
CHAPTER 14Job 14:1-22. Job Passes from His Own to the Common Misery of Mankind.1. woman—feeble, and in the East looked down upon (Ge 2:21). Man being born of one so frail must be frail himself (Mt 11:11).few days—(Ge 47:9; Ps 90:10). Literally, "short of days." Man is the reverse of full of days and short of trouble.
clarkeJob 14:1: "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble."
Man - born of a woman - There is a delicacy in the original, not often observed: אדם ילוד אשה Adam yelud ishah, "Adam born of a woman, few of days, and full of tremor." Adam, who did not spring from woman, but was immediately formed by God, had many days, for he lived nine hundred and thirty years; during which time neither sin nor death had multiplied in the earth, as they were found in the days of Job. But the Adam…
The verse emphasizes that being "born of a woman" is the root of human frailty, not just a biological fact. This simple phrase points to our inherent weakness and susceptibility to suffering, a direct contrast to God's unfailing strength. It highlights that our very existence begins with vulnerability, making our lives inherently short and prone to distress.
Job shifts from arguing with God about his own suffering to reflecting on the universal misery of humankind. He points out that because humans are born of women, they are inherently frail, destined for a short life filled with hardship and anxiety. This observation serves as a preface to his contemplation of death and the possibility of an afterlife.
Job shifts from arguing with God about his own suffering to reflecting on the universal misery of humankind. He points out that because humans are born of women, they are inherently frail, destined for a short life filled with hardship and anxiety. This observation serves as a preface to his contemplation of death and the possibility of an afterlife.
"“Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not." — The verse emphasizes that being "born of a woman" is the root of human frailty, not just a biological fact. This simple phrase points to our inherent weakness and susceptibility to suffering, a direc…
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Last reviewed October 2026