He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse doesn't just describe life's brevity; it emphasizes how quickly beauty and presence fade. The "flower" isn't just cut down, but "withers" first, highlighting a natural decay before the finality of being removed, much like a shadow fleetingly shifts and disappears rather than just vanishing.
He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job is in the midst of profound suffering, questioning the very meaning of life when it seems so short and fleeting. He's moved from his initial defense to a deeper lament about the fragility and brevity of human existence itself. This verse directly follows his complaint that his days are few and full of trouble, setting up his meditation on life's impermanence.
We arrive in the world with such promise, like a delicate bloom unfurling. But how long does that vibrant beauty truly last?
Job uses two powerful images to describe human life: a flower and a shadow. The flower represents our arrival and outward appearance. We emerge, tender and potentially beautiful, full of potential. Think of the fresh bloom of youth, the vibrancy of health, or the peak of our accomplishments. Yet, this stage is inherently temporary. Flowers are easily 'cut down' – by disease, by accident, or simply by the natural process of decay. Life's beauty, therefore, is not permanent but fragile and transient.
Beyond the bloom, there's another image for life: a shadow. What does this elusive, fleeting image reveal about our existence?
The second image, a shadow, emphasizes life's lack of substance and its swift departure. Unlike a flower that wilts, a shadow is something that simply 'flees' and 'continues not.' Shadows are dependent on light and an object, and they constantly shift and disappear. They represent our transient presence in the world. We are here one moment, a brief outline against the backdrop of existence, and gone the next. There's no permanence, no lasting grip. Life, in this sense, is like a shadow that cannot be grasped and will not remain.
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This passage directly echoes Job's imagery, comparing human life to grass that springs up and flowers that bloom, only to wither quickly under God's breath.
Isaiah 40:6-7Isaiah uses the same vivid metaphor of a flower withering and grass drying up to illustrate the transient nature of human glory and strength in contrast to God's eternal Word.
James 1:10-11This New Testament passage draws a parallel between the rich man's pride and the fleeting beauty of a wildflower, emphasizing how quickly earthly prosperity and status can fade away.
Job 7:2Job himself reflects on his life as a servant longing for rest and a shadow that ends, reinforcing the theme of human existence being brief and insubstantial.
Psalm 144:4This verse also employs the shadow metaphor, describing human life as a fleeting shadow, which captures the same sense of transience and lack of permanence found in Job's lament.
jfbJob 14:2: "He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not."
- (Ps 90:6; see on [503]Job 8:9).
bensonJob 14:2: "He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not."
Job 14:2 . He cometh forth like a flower — Tender and delicate, fair and beautiful, his faculties and members opening and expanding themselves by degrees; and is cut down — By the scythe of some spreading malady; or cropped by the rude hand of some ruthless distemper; or nipped and withered by the frost of some wasting weakness and decay. He fleeth also as a shadow — Which, being caused b…
The verse doesn't just describe life's brevity; it emphasizes how quickly beauty and presence fade. The "flower" isn't just cut down, but "withers" first, highlighting a natural decay before the finality of being removed, much like a shadow fleetingly shifts and disappears rather than just vanishing.
Job is in the midst of profound suffering, questioning the very meaning of life when it seems so short and fleeting. He's moved from his initial defense to a deeper lament about the fragility and brevity of human existence itself. This verse directly follows his complaint that his days are few and full of trouble, setting up his meditation on life's impermanence.
Job is in the midst of profound suffering, questioning the very meaning of life when it seems so short and fleeting. He's moved from his initial defense to a deeper lament about the fragility and brevity of human existence itself. This verse directly follows his complaint that his days are few and full of trouble, setting up his meditation on life's impermanence.
"He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not." — The verse doesn't just describe life's brevity; it emphasizes how quickly beauty and presence fade. The "flower" isn't just cut down, but "withers" first, highlighting a natural decay before the fina…
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Last reviewed October 2026