to become old
ba.lah describes aging or wearing away, of garments, bodies, the land, and other things subject to decline.
The attested usage chiefly describes becoming worn or old: clothing, sandals, skin, bones, the land, and heavens are presented as subject to deterioration or age. In Piel forms, the term can describe wearing down or bringing something to its end, including flesh and skin, days, and continued affliction.
Senses in use
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Growing old or wearing out · dominant
Qal forms describe material things and persons undergoing age or decay. In Deuteronomy 8:4 and Nehemiah 9:21, the APB renders the clause that garments did not “wear out”; Joshua 9:13 says garments and sandals “have become old” from the journey. Isaiah 51:6 extends the portrayal to the land, which the APB says “will become old like a garment,” while Job 13:28 compares a wasting person to a moth-eaten garment.
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Wearing down or reaching an end · occasional
Piel forms show a more active or consumptive presentation in their clauses. In Lamentations 3:4, the APB renders the action as “He wore out my flesh and my skin”; Job 21:13 says people “complete their days in prosperity.” In 1 Chronicles 17:9, the infinitive occurs in the promise that the sons of injustice will not afflict Israel any longer, whereas the APB does not isolate the term's contribution in Psalm 49:15.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously presents the clauses with “wear out,” “become old,” “grew old,” “wastes away,” “wore out,” and “complete their days.” Its wording confirms the clauses' overall portrayal of decline or expenditure rather than supplying a separate definition in every verse.