Job 34:14
New International Version
If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath,

New Living Translation
If God were to take back his spirit and withdraw his breath,

English Standard Version
If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,

Berean Standard Bible
If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath,

King James Bible
If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;

New King James Version
If He should set His heart on it, If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath,

New American Standard Bible
“If He were to determine to do so, If He were to gather His spirit and His breath to Himself,

NASB 1995
“If He should determine to do so, If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,

NASB 1977
“If He should determine to do so, If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,

Legacy Standard Bible
If He should set His heart on it, If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,

Amplified Bible
“If God should determine to do so, If He should gather to Himself [that is, withdraw from man] His [life-giving] spirit and His breath,

Christian Standard Bible
If he put his mind to it and withdrew the spirit and breath he gave,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
If He put His mind to it and withdrew the spirit and breath He gave,

American Standard Version
If he set his heart upon himself, If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;

Contemporary English Version
If God took back the breath that he breathed into us,

English Revised Version
If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
If he thought only of himself and withdrew his Spirit and his breath,

Good News Translation
If God took back the breath of life,

International Standard Version
If he were to decide to do so, that is, to take back to himself his spirit and breath of life,

Majority Standard Bible
If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath,

NET Bible
If God were to set his heart on it, and gather in his spirit and his breath,

New Heart English Bible
If he set his heart on himself, If he gathered to himself his spirit and his breath,

Webster's Bible Translation
If he should set his heart upon man, if he should gather to himself his spirit and his breath;

World English Bible
If he set his heart on himself, if he gathered to himself his spirit and his breath,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
If He sets His heart on him, "" [If] He gathers His Spirit and His breath to Himself,

Young's Literal Translation
If He doth set on him His heart, His spirit and his breath unto Him He gathereth.

Smith's Literal Translation
If he will set his heart to him, he will gather his spirit and his breath to him;
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
If he turn his heart to him, he shall draw his spirit and breath unto himself.

Catholic Public Domain Version
But, if he directs his heart towards him, he will draw his spirit and breath to himself.

New American Bible
If he were to set his mind to it, gather to himself his spirit and breath,

New Revised Standard Version
If he should take back his spirit to himself, and gather to himself his breath,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
If he should turn his heart against man, man's spirit and his breath will be gathered to him.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
If he turns his heart against it, his spirit and his soul are gathered to him
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
If He set His heart upon man, If He gather unto Himself his spirit and his breath;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For if he would confine, and restrain his spirit with himself;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Elihu Confirms God's Justice
13Who gave Him charge over the earth? Who appointed Him over the whole world? 14If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath, 15all flesh would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.…

Cross References
Genesis 2:7
Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

Psalm 104:29-30
When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to dust. / When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.

Ecclesiastes 12:7
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Isaiah 42:5
This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:

Acts 17:25
Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

Acts 17:28
‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’

Genesis 6:3
So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.”

Psalm 146:4
When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.

Isaiah 57:16
For I will not accuse you forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me—the breath of life I have made.

Ezekiel 37:5-6
This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life. / I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

1 Corinthians 15:45
So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam a life-giving spirit.

Romans 8:11
And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

1 Timothy 6:13
I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made the good confession in His testimony before Pontius Pilate:

John 5:21
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.

John 6:63
The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.


Treasury of Scripture

If he set his heart on man, if he gather to himself his spirit and his breath;

set

Job 7:17
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?

Job 9:4
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?

upon man.

Psalm 104:29
Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

Isaiah 24:22
And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.

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Breath Determine Gather Gathered Gathereth Heart Intention Spirit Thought Withdrew
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Breath Determine Gather Gathered Gathereth Heart Intention Spirit Thought Withdrew
Job 34
1. Elihu accuses Job for charging God with injustice
10. God omnipotent cannot be unjust
31. Man must humble himself unto God
34. Elihu reproves Job














If He were to set His heart to it
This phrase suggests the intentionality and sovereignty of God. The Hebrew root for "set His heart" (שִׂים לֵב, sim lev) implies a deliberate focus or decision. In the context of Job, this highlights God's omnipotence and His ability to act according to His will. Historically, this reflects the ancient Near Eastern understanding of deities as powerful beings who could influence the world at their discretion. For the believer, it is a reminder of God's ultimate control over creation and His purposeful engagement with the world.

and withdraw His Spirit
The term "Spirit" (רוּחַ, ruach) in Hebrew can mean breath, wind, or spirit, indicating the life-giving force of God. In Genesis 2:7, God breathes life into Adam, signifying that life itself is a divine gift. The idea of God withdrawing His Spirit underscores the dependency of all creation on God's sustaining power. This reflects a theological understanding that life is not autonomous but contingent upon God's continual presence and provision.

and breath
The word "breath" (נְשָׁמָה, neshamah) is closely related to "spirit" and often used interchangeably in the Hebrew Bible. It emphasizes the fragility and transience of human life. In Job's context, it serves as a humbling reminder of humanity's mortality and the ease with which life can be taken away. This aligns with the broader biblical narrative that life is a precious, God-given gift, and humans are to live in reverence and dependence on the Creator.

(14) If he set his heart upon man.--Or, upon himself. It is ambiguous: and so, likewise, the next clause is. We must either regard it as the consequence of the former one--"If He set His heart upon Himself, had regard to His own interest, then He would gather unto Himself His own spirit and His own breath"--or we must do as some do: supply the "if" at the beginning of it, and read it as in the Authorised Version. In this sense, the setting His heart upon man would mean in a bad sense--to do him injury. In doing him injury He would, in fact, injure His own. The effect of His setting His heart on man would be that all flesh would perish together, and man would turn again to his dust; but then God would have injured His own, and not another's, in so doing. It is hardly possible that the writer of this last clause should have been ignorant of Genesis 3:19. The speech of Elihu is marked with entire self-confidence.

Verse 14. - If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath. Two renderings are proposed, both supported By about equal authority:

(1) "If he (i.e. God) set his heart upon himself, if he should gather to himself his own spirit, and breath," then all flesh would perish, etc.

(2) "If he [i.e. God] set his heart upon [or, 'against'] man, if he were to gather to himself man's spirit and man's breath," then, etc. The difference is not great. God could, either by withdrawing from man the breath and spirit which he has given him, or simply by withholding from man the quickening and sustaining influences which he is perpetually putting forth, reduce all humankind to nothingness. Being so completely master of man, he would surely not condescend to treat him with injustice. Injustice implies something of opposition, struggle, rivalry.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
If
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

He were to set
יָשִׂ֣ים (yā·śîm)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set

His heart
לִבּ֑וֹ (lib·bōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3820: The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre

to it
אֵלָ֣יו (’ê·lāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

and withdraw
יֶאֱסֹֽף׃ (ye·’ĕ·sōp̄)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 622: To gather for, any purpose, to receive, take away, remove

His Spirit
רוּח֥וֹ (rū·ḥōw)
Noun - common singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7307: Wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit

and breath,
וְ֝נִשְׁמָת֗וֹ (wə·niš·mā·ṯōw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5397: A puff, wind, angry, vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect, an animal


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OT Poetry: Job 34:14 If he set his heart on himself (Jb)
Job 34:13
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