Job 24
1 Why doesn't the Almighty set a definite time to punish the wicked? Why don't those who follow him never see him act in judgment?
“Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?
2 The wicked move boundary stones; they seize other people's flocks and move them to their own pastures.
Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
3 They steal the orphan's donkey; they take the widow's ox as security for a debt.
They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4 They push the poor out of their way; the destitute are forced to hide from them.
They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor have to scavenge for their food, looking for anything to feed their children in the wasteland.
Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children.
6 They are forced to find what they can in other people's fields, to glean among the vineyards of the wicked.
They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
7 They spend the night naked because they have no clothes; they have nothing to cover themselves against the cold.
Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
8 They are soaked by the cold mountain storms, and huddle beside the rocks for shelter.
Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.
9 Fatherless children are snatched from their mother's breasts, taking the babies of the poor as security for a debt.
The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
10 Because they have no clothes to wear they have to go naked, harvesting sheaves of grain while they themselves are hungry.
Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 In the olive groves they work to produce oil, but do not taste it; they tread the winepress, but are thirsty.
They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
12 In the city the dying groan, and the wounded cry for help, but God ignores their prayers.
From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.
13 These are people who rebel against the light. They do not want to know its ways, or to stay on its paths.
Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
14 The murderer gets up at dawn to kill the poor and needy, and when night falls he becomes a thief.
When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.
15 The adulterer waits for dusk, saying to himself, ‘No one will see me now,’ and he covers his face.
The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.
16 Thieves break into houses during the night and they sleep during the day. They don't even know what the light is like!
In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.
17 Total darkness is like light to them, for they are familiar with the night.
For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!
18 Like bubbles on the surface of a river they are quickly carried away. The land they own is cursed by God. They don't enter their own 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.
19 Just as heat and drought dry up snowmelt, so Sheol takes away those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
20 Even their mothers forget them, maggots feast on them, they are no longer remembered, and their wickedness becomes like a tree that is broken into pieces.
The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree.
21 They mistreat childless women and are mean to widows.
They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
22 God prolongs the life of the wicked by his power; but when they arise, they have no assurance of life.
Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.
23 He supports them and gives them security, but he is always watching what they're doing.
He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.
24 Though they may be illustrious for a while, soon they are gone. They are brought down like all others, cut off like the heads of grain.
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 this isn't so, who can prove I'm a liar and there's nothing to what I say?”
If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
