Job 24
1 “For this reason from the Mighty One Times have not been hidden, And those knowing Him have not seen His days.
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?
2 They reach the borders, They have taken a drove away violently, Indeed, they do evil.
The wicked move boundary stones; they seize other people's flocks and move them to their own pastures.
3 They lead away the donkey of the fatherless, They take in pledge the ox of the widow,
They steal the orphan's donkey; they take the widow's ox as security for a debt.
4 They turn aside the needy from the way, Together have hid the poor of the earth.
They push the poor out of their way; the destitute are forced to hide from them.
5 Behold, wild donkeys in a wilderness, They have gone out about their work, Seeking early for prey, A mixture for himself—food for young ones.
Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor have to scavenge for their food, looking for anything to feed their children in the wasteland.
6 They reap his provender in a field, And they glean the vineyard of the wicked.
They are forced to find what they can in other people's fields, to glean among the vineyards of the wicked.
7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing. And there is no covering in the cold.
They spend the night naked because they have no clothes; they have nothing to cover themselves against the cold.
8 From the inundation of hills they are wet, And without a refuge—have embraced a rock.
They are soaked by the cold mountain storms, and huddle beside the rocks for shelter.
9 They take away violently The orphan from the breast, And they lay a pledge on the poor.
Fatherless children are snatched from their mother's breasts, taking the babies of the poor as security for a debt.
10 Naked, they have gone without clothing, And hungry—have taken away a sheaf.
Because they have no clothes to wear they have to go naked, harvesting sheaves of grain while they themselves are hungry.
11 They make oil between their walls, They have trodden winepresses, and thirst.
In the olive groves they work to produce oil, but do not taste it; they tread the winepress, but are thirsty.
12 Men groan because of enmity, And the soul of pierced ones cries, And God does not give praise.
In the city the dying groan, and the wounded cry for help, but God ignores their prayers.
13 They have been those rebelling against light, They have not discerned His ways, Nor abided in His paths.
These are people who rebel against the light. They do not want to know its ways, or to stay on its paths.
14 The murderer rises at the light, He slays the poor and needy, And in the night he is as a thief.
The murderer gets up at dawn to kill the poor and needy, and when night falls he becomes a thief.
15 And the eye of an adulterer Has observed the twilight, Saying, No eye beholds me. And he puts the face in secret.
The adulterer waits for dusk, saying to himself, ‘No one will see me now,’ and he covers his face.
16 He has dug in the darkness—houses; By day they shut themselves up, They have not known light.
Thieves break into houses during the night and they sleep during the day. They don't even know what the light is like!
17 When together, morning [is] death-shade to them, When he discerns the terrors of death-shade.
Total darkness is like light to them, for they are familiar with the night.
18 He [is] light on the face of the waters, Their portion is vilified in the earth, He does not turn the way of vineyards.
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.
Just as heat and drought dry up snowmelt, so Sheol takes away those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
20 The womb forgets him, The worm sweetens [on] him, He is remembered no more, And wickedness is broken as a tree.
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.
21 Treating evil the barren [who] does not bear, And he does no good [to] the widow,
They mistreat childless women and are mean to widows.
22 And [God] has drawn the mighty by His power, He rises, and none believes in life.
God prolongs the life of the wicked by his power; but when they arise, they have no assurance of life.
23 He gives to him confidence, and he is supported, And His eyes [are] on their ways.
He supports them and gives them security, but he is always watching what they're doing.
24 They were high [for] a little, and they are not, And they have been brought low. They are shut up as all [others], And cut off as the head of an ear of grain.
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.
25 And if not now, who proves me a liar, And makes my word of nothing?”
If this isn't so, who can prove I'm a liar and there's nothing to what I say?”
