Job 14:2

Modern

Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

Traditional

He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

Literal

Like a flower he comes forth and withers, and he flees like a shadow, and does not stand.

Latin

Qui quasi flos egreditur et conteritur, et fugit velut umbra, et numquam in eodem statu permanet.

Hebrew

English

Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

The flower symbolizes how short life is (Psalms 90:5–6; 103:15–16; Isaiah 40:6–7).
A shadow passes quickly (1 Chronicles 29:15; Psalm 102:11).

Isaiah 40:6–8
A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
Job 8:9
For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow.
Psalm 103:15–16
As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field;
1 Chronicles 29:15
For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
James 1:10–11
But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
Psalm 144:4
Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
Psalm 102:11
My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass.
Ecclesiastes 8:13
Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
Job 9:25–26
My days are swifter than a runner; they flee without seeing good.
Psalm 92:12
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.