Job 24
1 Why are times not laid up by the Almighty? And why do those who know him not see his days?
“Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?
2 There are men who remove the landmarks. They take away flocks violently, and feed them.
Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless. They take the widow's ox for a pledge.
They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4 They turn the needy out of the way. The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert, they go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food. The wilderness yields them bread for their sons.
Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children.
6 They cut their provender in the field, and they glean the vintage of the wicked.
They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
7 They lie all night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.
Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.
9 There are men who pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor,
The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
10 so that they go about naked without clothing, and being hungry they carry the sheaves.
Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 They make oil within the walls of these men. They tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
12 From out of the populous city men groan, and the soul of the wounded cries out. Yet God does not regard the folly.
From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.
13 These are of those who rebel against the light. They do not know the ways of it, nor abide in the paths of it.
Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
14 The murderer rises with the light. He kills the poor and needy. And in the night he is as a thief.
When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.
15 The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me. And he disguises his face.
The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.
16 In the dark they dig through houses. They shut themselves up in the daytime. They do not know the light.
In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.
17 For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness. For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!
18 Swiftly they pass away upon the face of the waters. Their portion is cursed in the earth. They do not turn into the way of the vineyards.
They are but foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one turns toward their vineyards.
As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
20 The womb shall forget him. The worm shall feed sweetly on him. He shall be no more remembered. And unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.
The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree.
21 He devours the barren who do not bear, and does no good to the widow.
They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
22 Yet God preserves the mighty by his power. He rises up who has no assurance of life.
Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.
23 God gives them to be in security, and they rest in it. And his eyes are upon their ways.
He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted. Yet a little while, and they are gone. Yea, they are brought low. They are taken out of the way as all others, and are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.
They are exalted for a moment, then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain.
25 And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar, and make my speech worth nothing?
If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
