As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.
As a cloud is consumed and vanishes away, so one who goes down to the grave does not come up again to mortal and earthly life or return to the former home and place there. The grave here is the Hebrew sheol, the common state and realm of the dead. There the dead are unconscious in body and soul, asleep with no awareness or activity, their thoughts ceasing with their breath. This concerns this temporal life and does not deny that they will be raised, for they remain asleep until the Lord calls them with His voice at the trumpet, when death and hades give up the dead and the faithful meet once more. Hence the dead cannot leave the grave to communicate with the living or return through mediums, for no traveler comes back from death to unfold its secrets.
Language and Historical Setting
The comparison likens one descending to the grave to a cloud that is consumed and disappears, so that he does not come back to mortal and earthly life, to his former home, or to occupy and resume his former place and activities there. The image presents human life as brief and transient, like vapor that quickly vanishes, like an arrow in flight, like winter grass, and like a flower that fades soon after blooming. The statement concerns this temporal life and the dead no longer having a place in life on earth, and it does not deny that the dead will be raised, but holds that they remain in sheol until the resurrection. Those who held it also drew from it that hardened sinners ultimately perish and cease to exist.
The word rendered grave is the Hebrew sheol, and its translation here as grave supports identifying sheol with the grave and the place of the dead rather than with a place of conscious happiness after death. Here sheol is a poetic name for the underworld, the common grave and the common state and realm of the dead, not merely the body's burial place. Those who go down there do not return to earthly life or become known in the former home again, nor do they return to life before the resurrection, but only when death and hades give up the dead at the judgment.
Job 7 belongs to Job's answer to Eliphaz, in which Eliphaz tells him not to despise God's chastening and Job justifies his complaints. The verse is one of Job's own words in the colloquies between Job and his three friends in chapters 3-31 about the cause and object of human suffering. Its inspiration guarantees that Job spoke it, not that what it says is true, for it reflects human wisdom and observation spoken from the same limited standpoint as his friends. Job spoke as one who knew his own integrity yet could not understand God's dealings with him, though he did not charge God foolishly, while God saw the end from the beginning and was working through it what would forever glorify Himself, bring comfort and hope to thousands of sufferers, and prove a blessing to Job.
Death Without Return
As a cloud is consumed and vanishes, so one who goes down to the grave does not come up again to mortal and earthly life. He does not return to his former home or become known there again, nor occupy his former place and resume his former activities there. Sheol to which he goes is the realm of the dead, the common state of the dead, not merely the body's burial place. He remains there asleep, waiting for his appointed change until the Lord calls him and brings him up.
The dead are unconscious in body and soul, asleep with no awareness or activity in the grave. Their thoughts cease with their breath, so they experience neither joy nor sorrow. Death ends their present existence and cuts them off from life, hope, and immortality.
This coming up no more concerns this temporal life and ordinary life, and does not deny that the dead will be raised. The dead remain asleep in sheol and hades until the resurrection. Their return occurs only when death and hades give up the dead at the judgment. Christ awakens them with His voice at the trumpet, when they live again and the faithful meet once more.
The dead cannot leave the grave to communicate with the living or return through mediums. No footsteps pass beyond the portals of the tomb to explore its dark and mysterious regions. The veil of the future never swings outward to permit even a glance into that unknown realm. No traveler ever comes back from death to unfold its secrets to curious ears.
The vanishing like a cloud shows that hardened sinners ultimately perish and cease to exist. Going down to the grave in this sense means not rising again at all, not merely rising only after a long delay. This is distinct from the wicked being raised after the heavens pass away to face everlasting shame and contempt.
As a cloud is consumed and vanishes away, so one who goes down to the grave does not come up again to mortal and earthly life or return to the former home and place there. The grave here is the Hebrew sheol, the common state and realm of the dead. There the dead are unconscious in body and soul, asleep with no awareness or activity, their thoughts ceasing with their breath. This concerns this temporal life and does not deny that they will be raised, for they remain asleep until the Lord calls them with His voice at the trumpet, when death and hades give up the dead and the faithful meet once more. Hence the dead cannot leave the grave to communicate with the living or return through mediums, for no traveler comes back from death to unfold its secrets.
Language and Historical Setting
The comparison likens one descending to the grave to a cloud that is consumed and disappears, so that he does not come back to mortal and earthly life, to his former home, or to occupy and resume his former place and activities there. The image presents human life as brief and transient, like vapor that quickly vanishes, like an arrow in flight, like winter grass, and like a flower that fades soon after blooming. The statement concerns this temporal life and the dead no longer having a place in life on earth, and it does not deny that the dead will be raised, but holds that they remain in sheol until the resurrection. Those who held it also drew from it that hardened sinners ultimately perish and cease to exist.
The word rendered grave is the Hebrew sheol, and its translation here as grave supports identifying sheol with the grave and the place of the dead rather than with a place of conscious happiness after death. Here sheol is a poetic name for the underworld, the common grave and the common state and realm of the dead, not merely the body's burial place. Those who go down there do not return to earthly life or become known in the former home again, nor do they return to life before the resurrection, but only when death and hades give up the dead at the judgment.
Job 7 belongs to Job's answer to Eliphaz, in which Eliphaz tells him not to despise God's chastening and Job justifies his complaints. The verse is one of Job's own words in the colloquies between Job and his three friends in chapters 3-31 about the cause and object of human suffering. Its inspiration guarantees that Job spoke it, not that what it says is true, for it reflects human wisdom and observation spoken from the same limited standpoint as his friends. Job spoke as one who knew his own integrity yet could not understand God's dealings with him, though he did not charge God foolishly, while God saw the end from the beginning and was working through it what would forever glorify Himself, bring comfort and hope to thousands of sufferers, and prove a blessing to Job.
Death Without Return
As a cloud is consumed and vanishes, so one who goes down to the grave does not come up again to mortal and earthly life. He does not return to his former home or become known there again, nor occupy his former place and resume his former activities there. Sheol to which he goes is the realm of the dead, the common state of the dead, not merely the body's burial place. He remains there asleep, waiting for his appointed change until the Lord calls him and brings him up.
The dead are unconscious in body and soul, asleep with no awareness or activity in the grave. Their thoughts cease with their breath, so they experience neither joy nor sorrow. Death ends their present existence and cuts them off from life, hope, and immortality.
This coming up no more concerns this temporal life and ordinary life, and does not deny that the dead will be raised. The dead remain asleep in sheol and hades until the resurrection. Their return occurs only when death and hades give up the dead at the judgment. Christ awakens them with His voice at the trumpet, when they live again and the faithful meet once more.
The dead cannot leave the grave to communicate with the living or return through mediums. No footsteps pass beyond the portals of the tomb to explore its dark and mysterious regions. The veil of the future never swings outward to permit even a glance into that unknown realm. No traveler ever comes back from death to unfold its secrets to curious ears.
The vanishing like a cloud shows that hardened sinners ultimately perish and cease to exist. Going down to the grave in this sense means not rising again at all, not merely rising only after a long delay. This is distinct from the wicked being raised after the heavens pass away to face everlasting shame and contempt.