Job 24
1 “Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?
“(Why does Almighty [God] not set a time when he will judge [evil people]?/I do not understand why Almighty [God does] not set a time when he will judge [evil people].) [RHQ] Those who know him never [RHQ] see him do that!
2 Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
[Some evil people] remove the markers of boundaries of [other people’s] land, [in order to steal their land]; they seize/steal [other people’s] sheep and put them in their own pastures.
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
[Some] (take away/steal) the donkeys that belong to orphans, and they take widow’s oxen to guarantee that the widows will pay back the money that they loaned to those widows.
4 They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
[Some] shove poor people off the road (OR, prevent poor people from (obtaining their rights/being treated justly)), and they force poor people to find places to hide from them.
5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children.
The result is that poor people have to search for food in the desert like wild donkeys do.
6 They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
The poor people harvest left-over grain in other people’s fields, and gather grapes from vineyards that belong to wicked men.
7 Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
During the night they have nothing to cover their bodies, nothing to keep them warm.
8 Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.
When it rains on the mountains, the poor people become very wet, so they huddle under the rock ledges to be protected [from the rain].
9 The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
[Some evil men] snatch infants away from their widowed mothers [SYN], and they say ‘I will return your babies to you when you repay the money that I lent to you.’
10 Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
But the poor people walk around with no clothes on; they are hungry while they are working to carry [other people’s] bundles of grain [to the places where their grain will be threshed].
11 They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
Poor people press olives to make [olive] oil; they tread on grapes [to make juice for wine], but [they are not allowed to drink any of it when] they become thirsty.
12 From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.
In the cities, people who are wounded and dying cry out [to God for help], but God does not heed their prayers.
13 Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
Some wicked people avoid the light [because they do evil things in the dark]; they do not walk on roads that are lighted.
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.
Murderers steal things during the night, and then they arise before dawn in order that they may [go out again and] kill needy [DOU] people.
15 The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.
Those who want to commit adultery wait for twilight/evening; they say ‘I do not want anyone to see me,’ so they keep their faces covered.
16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.
It is during the night that robbers break into houses [to steal things], but during the day they hide because they want to avoid [being seen in] the light.
17 For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!
All of those [people] want to do their evil things at night, not in the morning [when it is light], because they are not afraid of [the things that happen during the] night that terrify others.”
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.
“[But it is wicked people] who are swept/carried away by floods, and God curses the land that they own, and no one goes to work in their vineyards.
19 As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
Just like the snow melts away when it is hot and there is no rain, those who have sinned disappear into the place where dead people are. (Sheol h7585)
20 The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree.
Not even their mothers remember them now; wicked people are destroyed like trees that are cut down, and maggots eat their corpses.
21 They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
They mistreat women who have been unable to give birth to children and women who no longer have children [to take care of them], and they never do good things for widows.
22 Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.
But God, by his power, gets rid of mighty/influential people. God acts and causes the wicked people to die.
23 He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.
God allows them to think that they are secure and safe, but he is watching [MTY] them all the time.
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 prosper for a little while, and then [suddenly] they are gone; they disappear like weeds wither and die; they are like [SIM] stalks of grain that have been cut off.
25 If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
If this is not true, is there [RHQ] anyone who will show that I am a liar and prove that what I have said is not true?”
