How we cite our quotes: (Chapter:Verse)
Quote #7
'For there is hope for a tree,
if it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its shoots will not cease.
Though its root grows old in the earth,
and its stump dies in the ground,
yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth branches like a young plant.
But mortals die, and are laid low;
humans expire, and where are they?
As waters fail from a lake,
and a river wastes away and dries up,
so mortals lie down and do not rise again;
until the heavens are no more, they will not awake
or be roused out of their sleep.' (NRSV 14:7-12)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.
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. (KJV 14:7-12)
Nature has a chance of re-forming itself after a catastrophe, but humans are stuck. Once they're dead, they're dead. And to top it off, humans have the ability to think. Well, most of us, at least. According to Job, that means we should get an explanation for the whole process. God was the one who gave us the power of thought to begin with, right?
Quote #8
'It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
and concealed from the birds of the air.
Abaddon and Death say,
"We have heard a rumour of it with our ears.' (NRSV 28:21-22)Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. (KJV 28:21-22)
This is from the "where is wisdom" passage. Wisdom here is elusive even to death. This is because the speaker wants us to know that God himself holds all the cards and all the keys—wisdom can only be found by exploring his works in the world and remembering our powerlessness. Death itself has no wisdom because it cannot envision the whole of life, just the end of it.