Job 24
1 “Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?
Times are not hid from the Almighty: but they that know him, know not his days.
2 Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
Some have removed landmarks, have taken away flocks by force, and fed them.
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
They have driven away the ass of the fatherless, and have taken away the widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
They have overturned the way of the poor, and have oppressed 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 a prey they get bread for their children.
6 They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
They reap the field that is not their own, and gather the vintage of his vineyard whom by violence they have oppressed.
7 Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
They send men away naked, taking away their clothes who have no covering in the cold:
8 Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.
Who are wet, with the showers of the mountains, and having no covering embrace the stones.
9 The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
They have violently robbed the fatherless, and stripped the poor common people.
10 Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
From the naked and them that go without clothing, and from the hungry they have taken away the ears of corn.
11 They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
They have taken their rest at noon among the stores of them, who after having 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.
Out of the cities they have made men to groan, and the soul of the wounded hath cried out, and God doth not suffer it to pass unrevenged.
13 Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
They have been rebellious to the light, they have not known his ways, neither 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 murderer riseth at the very break of day, he killeth the needy, and the poor man: but in the night he will be as a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.
The eye of the adulterer observeth darkness, saying: No eye shall see me: and he will cover his face.
16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.
He diggeth through houses in the dark, as in the day they had appointed for themselves, and they have not known the light.
17 For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!
If the morning suddenly appear, it is to them the shadow of death: and they walk in darkness as if it were 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 light upon the face of the water: cursed be his portion on the earth, let him not walk by the way of the vineyards.
19 As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
Let him pass from the snow waters to excessive heat, and his sin even 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: may worms be his sweetness: let him be remembered no more, but be broken in pieces as an unfruitful tree.
21 They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
For he hath fed the barren that beareth not, and to the widow he hath done no good.
22 Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.
He hath pulled down the strong by his might: and when he standeth up, he shall not trust to his life.
23 He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.
God hath given him place for penance, and he abuseth it unto pride: 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 and shall not stand, and shall be brought down as all things, and shall be taken away, and as the tops of the ears of corn they shall be broken.
25 If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
And if it be not so, who can convince me that I have lied, and set my words before God?
