“For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse highlights that even a seemingly dead tree stump can still produce new life. This isn't just about trees; it's a profound contrast Job uses to emphasize the finality of human death in this life, a stark difference that weighs heavily on him.
“For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job, in the depths of his suffering, is comparing human life to a tree, emphasizing the stark difference between the fate of the natural world and humanity. He observes that even a tree, when cut down, has the potential to regrow and send forth new shoots, suggesting a cycle of renewal. This leads him to a sorrowful reflection on man's seemingly irreversible end after death, contrasting it with the tree's enduring hope.
When a tree is cut down, is it truly the end? Job uses a striking image from nature to make a point about life and death.
Job paints a picture of a tree that, even when cut down to its stump, holds the promise of new life. The root system often remains, and with moisture, new shoots emerge, seemingly like a newly planted tree. This isn't a guarantee for every tree, but it highlights a natural resilience and capacity for renewal that Job observes.
This natural phenomenon serves as a contrast to the perceived finality of human death in the ancient world. While nature shows signs of coming back from what looks like an end, the human experience, as Job sees it here, seems different.
If a tree can bounce back, what does that mean for us when life is cut short? Job makes a stark comparison.
Job uses the tree's hope as a way to highlight what he perceives as the finality of human death. He points out that while a tree stump might sprout, a person who dies doesn't seem to return to their earthly life. The words used for man – 'mighty man' and 'man of earth' – emphasize his nobility and his origins, yet death seems to halt his existence entirely.
This isn't necessarily Job's final word on the afterlife, but it reflects a common understanding of death at the time: it was seen as a definitive end to one's presence and experience in this world. The body returns to dust, and the spirit goes to the realm of the dead, with no apparent return to the land of the living.
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Even when faced with the apparent finality of death, Job hints at a hope that goes beyond the stump. What is this fragile hope?
While Job emphasizes the difference between a tree's potential regrowth and a human's seemingly permanent departure, his writings throughout the book, including later in chapter 14, suggest he wasn't entirely without hope for something beyond death. He expresses a longing for a change, a place of rest, and even hints at a future vindication.
This verse, therefore, isn't the full picture of Job's theology. It sets up a contrast to emphasize the sorrow of the present human condition without life's renewal. However, his persistent questioning and his eventual, albeit sometimes trembling, hope for a future encounter with God point towards a belief that transcended the natural order he observed in the tree.
Understand the original words
tiqvah · Hebrew Noun
Expectation or confident trust, often in the goodness or intervention of God; here, it refers to the possibility of renewal or continuation.
This passage describes Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a tree being cut down but its stump remaining, which parallels Job's image of a cut-down tree that can still sprout new life.
Luke 19:40Jesus states that if the disciples were silent, the very stones would cry out, emphasizing that even inanimate or seemingly lifeless things can proclaim God's glory, much like Job uses a tree to speak of life's potential.
John 15:5Jesus likens believers to branches that remain in Him, highlighting that true fruitfulness and life come from connection to the source, mirroring the idea of a tree's stump needing to connect to the earth (its roots) to sprout.
Romans 6:4This verse speaks of believers being 'buried with him through baptism into death—that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.' This resurrection theme echoes Job's hope that life can emerge even after what appears to be a final end.
Hebrews 12:22-24This passage contrasts the earthly Mount Sinai with the heavenly Jerusalem, where believers have come to a 'throng of angels in festive gathering,' and the spirits of the righteous made perfect, suggesting a vibrant spiritual life beyond earthly death that Job is contemplating.
bensonJob 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."
Job 14:7-10 . For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down — If the body of a tree be cut down, and only the stem or stump be left in the ground, yet there is hope; that it will sprout again — Hebrew, יחלי Š, jachalip, will yet renew itself, will revive and flourish as the spring comes on. Though the root wax old — Begin to wither and decay; and the stock t…
clarkeJob 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."
For there is hope of a tree - We must not, says Calmet, understand this of an old tree, the stem and roots of which are dried up and rotted: but there are some trees which grow from cuttings, and some which, though pulled out of the earth, and having had their roots dried and withered by long exposure to the sun and wind, will, on being replanted, take root a…
The verse highlights that even a seemingly dead tree stump can still produce new life. This isn't just about trees; it's a profound contrast Job uses to emphasize the finality of human death in this life, a stark difference that weighs heavily on him.
Job, in the depths of his suffering, is comparing human life to a tree, emphasizing the stark difference between the fate of the natural world and humanity. He observes that even a tree, when cut down, has the potential to regrow and send forth new shoots, suggesting a cycle of renewal. This leads him to a sorrowful reflection on man's seemingly irreversible end after death, contrasting it with the tree's enduring hope.
Job, in the depths of his suffering, is comparing human life to a tree, emphasizing the stark difference between the fate of the natural world and humanity. He observes that even a tree, when cut down, has the potential to regrow and send forth new shoots, suggesting a cycle of renewal. This leads him to a sorrowful reflection on man's seemingly irreversible end after death, contrasting it with the tree's enduring hope.
"“For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease." — The verse highlights that even a seemingly dead tree stump can still produce new life. This isn't just about trees; it's a profound contrast Job uses to emphasize the finality of human death in this…
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Last reviewed October 2026