Job 24
1 Why are not times treasured up with the Almighty? why do not they that know him see his days?
The times are not hidden from the Almighty; even those who know him, do not know his days.
2 They remove the landmarks; they violently take away the flocks and pasture them;
Some have crossed the boundaries, plundered the flocks, and given them pasture.
3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge;
They have driven away the donkey of orphans, and have taken the cow from the widow as collateral.
4 They turn the needy out of the way: the afflicted of the land all hide themselves.
They have undermined the way of the poor, and have pressed together the meek of the earth.
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.
Others, like wild asses in the desert, go forth to their work; by watching for prey, they obtain bread for their children.
6 They reap in the field the fodder thereof, and they gather the vintage of the wicked;
They reap a field that is not their own, and they harvest a vineyard that they have taken by force.
7 They pass the night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold;
They send men away naked, having taken the clothing of those who have no covering in the cold;
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and for want of a shelter embrace the rock...
these are wet with the mountain rain, and, having no covering, they embrace the rocks.
9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor:
They have used violence to deprive orphans, and they have robbed the poor common people.
10 These go naked without clothing, and, hungry, they bear the sheaf;
From the naked and those who do not have enough clothing, and from the hungry, they have taken away sheaves of grain.
11 They press out oil within their walls, they tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
They take their midday rest among the stockpiles of those who, though they have trodden the winepresses, suffer thirst.
12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out; and God imputeth not the impiety.
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 There are those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
They have been rebellious against the light; they have not known his ways, nor have they returned by his paths.
14 The murderer riseth with the light, killeth the afflicted and needy, and in the night is as 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 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 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; they know not 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 the morning is to them all [as] the shadow of death; for they are familiar with the terrors of the shadow of death.
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 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.
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.
May he cross from the snowy waters to excessive heat, and his sin, all the way to hell. (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, —
Let mercy forget him. His charm is worms. Let him not be remembered, but instead be broken like an unfruitful tree.
21 He that despoileth the barren that beareth not, and doeth not good 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 He draweth also the mighty with his power; he riseth up, and no [man] is sure 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 [God] setteth him in safety, and he resteth thereon; but his eyes are upon 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 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 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 it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?
But, if this is not so, who is able to prove to me that I have lied and to place my words before God?
