Consider the setting. Job, a man of outstanding faith, undergoes severe trials​—including the loss of his material possessions, the death of all his beloved children, and a painful illness. In the throes of misery, he calls out to God: “O that in Sheol [mankind’s common grave] you would conceal me!” (Verse 13) Job sees Sheol as a welcome relief. There, as if a treasure hidden by God, he will be free of hardship and pain.a

Will Sheol become Job’s permanent shelter? Job believes otherwise. He continues his prayer: “O that . . . you would set a time limit for me and remember me!” Job confidently hopes that his stay in Sheol will be temporary and that Jehovah will not forget him. Job likens the time that he will spend in Sheol to “compulsory service”​—an enforced period of waiting. For how long? “Until my relief comes,” he says. (Verse 14) That relief will mean release from Sheol​—in other words, a resurrection from the dead!