Job 7:9

As ¹  a cloud is dispersed and then disappears, ²  so the one who goes down to the grave ³  does not come up again. ⁴ 

As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave does not return.

"When a cloud vanishes, it is gone, So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back.

When a cloud evaporates, it's gone for good; those who go to the grave never come back.

A cloud comes to an end and is gone; so he who goes down into the underworld comes not up again.

As the cloud fades and vanishes, so those who go down to Sheol do not come up;

As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up.

As ¹  a cloud is dispersed and then disappears, ²  so the one who goes down to the grave ³  does not come up again. ⁴ 

¹ tn The comparison is implied; “as” is therefore supplied in the translation.

² tn The two verbs כָּלַה (kalah) and הָלַךְ (halakh) mean “to come to an end” and “to go” respectively. The picture is of the cloud that breaks up, comes to an end, is dispersed so that it is no longer a cloud; it then fades away or vanishes. This line forms a good simile for the situation of a man who comes to his end and disappears.

³ tn The noun שְׁאוֹל (shÿ’ol) can mean “the grave,” “death,” or “Sheol” – the realm of departed spirits. In Job this is a land from which there is no return (10:21 and here). It is a place of darkness and gloom (10:21-22), a place where the dead lie hidden (14:13); as a place appointed for all no matter what their standing on earth might have been (30:23). In each case the precise meaning has to be determined. Here the grave makes the most sense, for Job is simply talking about death.

⁴ sn It is not correct to try to draw theological implications from this statement or the preceding verse (Rashi said Job was denying the resurrection). Job is simply stating that when people die they are gone – they do not return to this present life on earth. Most commentators and theologians believe that theological knowledge was very limited at such an early stage, so they would not think it possible for Job to have bodily resurrection in view. (See notes on ch. 14 and 19:25-27.)