Job 24
1 “Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?
The times are not hidden from the Almighty; even those who know him, do not know his days.
2 Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
Some have crossed the boundaries, plundered the flocks, and given them pasture.
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
They have driven away the donkey of orphans, and have taken the cow from the widow as collateral.
4 They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
They have undermined the way of the poor, and have pressed together the meek of the earth.
5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children.
Others, like wild asses in the desert, go forth to their work; by watching for prey, they obtain bread for their children.
6 They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
They reap a field that is not their own, and they harvest a vineyard that they have taken by force.
7 Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
They send men away naked, having taken the clothing of those who have no covering in the cold;
8 Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.
these are wet with the mountain rain, and, having no covering, they embrace the rocks.
9 The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
They have used violence to deprive orphans, and they have robbed the poor common people.
10 Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
From the naked and those who do not have enough clothing, and from the hungry, they have taken away sheaves of grain.
11 They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
They take their midday rest among the stockpiles of those who, though they have trodden the winepresses, suffer thirst.
12 From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.
In the cities, they caused the men to groan and the spirit of the wounded to cry out, and so God does not allow this to go unpunished.
13 Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
They have been rebellious against the light; they have not known his ways, nor have they returned by his paths.
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.
The killer of men rises at first light; he executes the destitute and the poor, but, in truth, he is like a thief in the night.
15 The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.
The eye of the adulterer waits for darkness, saying, “No eye will see me,” and he covers his face.
16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.
He passes through houses in the nighttime, just as they had agreed among themselves in the daytime; and they are ignorant of the light.
17 For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!
If sunrise should suddenly appear, it is treated by them like the shadow of death; and they walk in darkness, as if in light.
18 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.
He is nimble on the surface of water. His place on land is to be accursed. May he not walk by way of the vineyards.
19 As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
May he cross from the snowy waters to excessive heat, and his sin, all the way to hell. (Sheol h7585)
20 The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree.
Let mercy forget him. His charm is worms. Let him not be remembered, but instead be broken like an unfruitful tree.
21 They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
For he has fed on the barren, who does not bear fruit, and he has not done good to the widow.
22 Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.
He has pulled down the strong by his strength, and, when he stands up, he will not have trust in his life.
23 He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.
God has given him a place for repentance, and he abuses it with arrogance, but his eyes are upon his ways.
24 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.
They are lifted up for a little while, but they will not continue, and they will be brought low, just like all things, and they will be taken away, and, like the tops of the ears of grain, they will be crushed.
25 If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
But, if this is not so, who is able to prove to me that I have lied and to place my words before God?
