< Job 24 >
1 Why are times not laid up by the Almighty? And why do not they that know him see his days?
全能者為何不劃定一個期限呢﹖忠於他的人為何看不到他的日子﹖
2 There are that remove the landmarks; They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
惡人挪移地界,搶去羊群自去牧放;
3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless; They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
趕走孤兒的驢,拿去寡婦的牛作抵押;
4 They turn the needy out of the way: The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
迫使窮人離開正路,使境內的貧民隱藏不露。
5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; The wilderness [yieldeth] them bread for their children.
看啊! 他們像曠野的野驢,出來尋覓食物;他們縱使到晚操作,卻找不到養子女的食物。
6 They cut their provender in the field; And they glean the vintage of the wicked.
夜間遂到田間去收割,到惡人的葡萄園中去摘取。
7 They lie all night naked without clothing, And have no covering in the cold.
赤身過宿,無衣蔽體;嚴寒之時,沒有舖蓋。
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, And embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
在山中為暴雨淋透,因無處避身,而臥於磐石下。
9 There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge of the poor;
另有些人將孤兒從母懷中搶去,剝去窮人的衣服作抵押,
10 [So that] they go about naked without clothing, And being hungry they carry the sheaves.
致使他們無衣赤身行走,枵腹擔荷麥捆;
11 They make oil within the walls of these men; They tread [their] winepresses, and suffer thirst.
在石槽中搾油、踐踏,反受口渴之苦。
12 From out of the populous city men groan, And the soul of the wounded crieth out: Yet God regardeth not the folly.
臨死者的呻吟,聲聞城外;負傷者呼求救援,天主卻不理會他們的哀求。
13 These are of them that rebel against the light; They know not the ways thereof, Nor abide in the paths thereof.
另有些人反抗光明,不認識光明的道路,更不走光明的途徑。
14 The murderer riseth with the light; He killeth the poor and needy; And in the night he is as a thief.
兇手黎明即起,去殺害困苦和貧窮的人,夜間去作盜賊。
15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, Saying, No eye shall see me: And he disguiseth his face.
姦夫的眼盼望黃昏,他心裏說:「沒有眼可看見我! 」就將自己的臉遮蔽起來。
16 In the dark they dig through houses: They shut themselves up in the day-time; They know not the light.
竊賊夜間挖穿屋牆,白日將自己關起,不願看見光明,
17 For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness; For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
因為早晨對這班人有如死影,他們已熟悉了黑暗的恐怖。
18 Swiftly they [pass away] upon the face of the waters; Their portion is cursed in the earth: They turn not into the way of the vineyards.
他們輕如水萍,隨波逐流,地上的家業已被詛咒,榨酒者不再走入他們的葡萄園。
19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: [So doth] Sheol [those that] have sinned. (Sheol )
亢旱酷暑怎樣溶盡雪水,陰府也怎樣將罪犯吸去。 (Sheol )
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.
懷孕他的要忘掉他,蛆蟲要腐蝕他,人不再記念他,邪惡如樹一般被人砍倒。
21 He devoureth the barren that beareth not, And doeth not good to the widow.
他欺壓了不生育的石女,沒有善待寡婦。
22 Yet [God] preserveth the mighty by his power: He riseth up that hath no assurance of life.
然而天主將以威力擄獲強者,他必興起,使他們不能保存生命。
23 [God] giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon; And his eyes are upon their ways.
雖暫時讓他們平安休息,但他的眼正監視著他們的行徑。
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.
他們居於高位,不久即不見了;他們必喪亡,有如鹹草;必被剪去,猶如麥穗。
25 And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech nothing worth?
是否如此﹖誰能證明我說謊,誰能以我的話為荒誕﹖