Job 24
1 Why are not times treasured up with the Almighty? why do not they that know him see his days?
“Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?
2 They remove the landmarks; they violently take away the flocks and pasture them;
Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge;
They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4 They turn the needy out of the way: the afflicted of the land all hide themselves.
They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Lo, [as] wild asses in the desert, they go forth to their work, seeking early for the prey: the wilderness [yieldeth] them food for [their] children.
Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children.
6 They reap in the field the fodder thereof, and they gather the vintage of the wicked;
They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
7 They pass the night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold;
Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and for want of a shelter embrace the rock...
Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.
9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor:
The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
10 These go naked without clothing, and, hungry, they bear the sheaf;
Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 They press out oil within their walls, they tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out; and God imputeth not the impiety.
From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.
13 There are those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
14 The murderer riseth with the light, killeth the afflicted and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.
15 And the eye of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me; and he putteth a covering on [his] face.
The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.
16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in; they know not the light:
In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.
17 For the morning is to them all [as] the shadow of death; for they are familiar with the terrors of the shadow of death.
For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!
18 He is swift on the face of the waters; their portion is cursed on the earth: he turneth not unto the way of the vineyards.
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.
As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
20 The womb forgetteth him; the worm feedeth sweetly on him: he shall be no more remembered; and unrighteousness is broken as a tree, —
The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree.
21 He that despoileth the barren that beareth not, and doeth not good to the widow:
They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
22 He draweth also the mighty with his power; he riseth up, and no [man] is sure of life.
Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.
23 [God] setteth him in safety, and he resteth thereon; but his eyes are upon their ways.
He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little, and are no more; they are laid low; like all [other] are they gathered, and are cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.
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.
25 If it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?
If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
