Job 24
1 But why have the seasons been hidden from the Lord,
“(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 while the ungodly have passed over the bound, carrying off the flock with the shepherd?
[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 have led away, the ass of the fatherless, and taken the widow's ox for a 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 have turned aside the weak from the right way: and the meek of the earth have hidden themselves together.
[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 And they have departed like asses in the field, having gone forth on my account according to their own order: his bread is sweet to [his] little ones.
The result is that poor people have to search for food in the desert like wild donkeys do.
6 They have reaped a field that was not their own before the time: the poor have laboured in the vineyards of the ungodly without pay and without food.
The poor people harvest left-over grain in other people’s fields, and gather grapes from vineyards that belong to wicked men.
7 They have caused many naked to sleep without clothes, and they have taken away the covering of their body.
During the night they have nothing to cover their bodies, nothing to keep them warm.
8 They are wet with the drops of the mountains: they have embraced the rock, because they had no 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 They have snatched the fatherless from the breast, and have afflicted the outcast.
[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 And they have wrongfully caused [others] to sleep without clothing, and taken away the morsel of the 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 have unrighteously laid wait in narrow places, and have not known the righteous way.
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 Who have cast forth [the] poor from the city and their own houses, and the soul of the children has groaned aloud.
In the cities, people who are wounded and dying cry out [to God for help], but God does not heed their prayers.
13 Why then has he not visited these? forasmuch as they were upon the earth, and took no notice, and they knew not the way of righteousness, neither have they walked in their [appointed] 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 But having known their works, he delivered them into darkness: and in the night one will be as 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 and the eye of the adulterer has watched [for] the darkness, saying, Eye shall not perceive me, and he puts a covering on 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 darkness he digs through houses: by day they conceal themselves securely: they know not 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 the morning is to them all [as] the shadow of death, for [each] will be conscious of the terror of the shadow of death.
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 He is swift on the face of the water: let his portion be cursed on the earth; and let their plants be laid bare.
“[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 [Let them be] withered upon the earth; for they have plundered the sheaves of the fatherless. (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 Then is his sin brought to remembrance, and he vanishes like a vapour of dew: but let what he has done be recompensed to him, and let every unrighteous one be crushed like rotten wood.
Not even their mothers remember them now; wicked people are destroyed like trees that are cut down, and maggots eat their corpses.
21 For he has not treated the barren woman well, and has had no pity on a feeble woman.
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 And in wrath he has overthrown the helpless: therefore when he has arisen, [a man] will not feel secure of his own life.
But God, by his power, gets rid of mighty/influential people. God acts and causes the wicked people to die.
23 When he has fallen sick, let him not hope to recover: but let him perish by disease.
God allows them to think that they are secure and safe, but he is watching [MTY] them all the time.
24 For his exaltation has hurt many; but he has withered as mallows in the heat, or as an ear of corn falling off of itself from the stalk.
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 But if not, who is he that says I speak falsely, and will make my words of no account?
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?”
