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 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 They reach the borders, They have taken a drove away violently, Indeed, they do evil.
[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 lead away the donkey of the fatherless, They take in pledge the ox of the widow,
[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 turn aside the needy from the way, Together have hid the poor of the earth.
[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 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.
The result is that poor people have to search for food in the desert like wild donkeys do.
6 They reap his provender in a field, And they glean the vineyard of the wicked.
The poor people harvest left-over grain in other people’s fields, and gather grapes from vineyards that belong to wicked men.
7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing. And there is no covering in the cold.
During the night they have nothing to cover their bodies, nothing to keep them warm.
8 From the inundation of hills they are wet, And without a refuge—have embraced a rock.
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 take away violently The orphan from the breast, And they lay a pledge on the poor.
[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 Naked, they have gone without clothing, And hungry—have taken away a sheaf.
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 make oil between their walls, They have trodden winepresses, and thirst.
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 Men groan because of enmity, And the soul of pierced ones cries, And God does not give praise.
In the cities, people who are wounded and dying cry out [to God for help], but God does not heed their prayers.
13 They have been those rebelling against light, They have not discerned His ways, Nor abided in His 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 The murderer rises at the light, He slays the poor and needy, And in the night he is 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 an adulterer Has observed the twilight, Saying, No eye beholds me. And he puts the face in secret.
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 He has dug in the darkness—houses; By day they shut themselves up, They have not known 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 When together, morning [is] death-shade to them, When he discerns the terrors of death-shade.
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] light on the face of the waters, Their portion is vilified in the earth, He does not turn the way of vineyards.
“[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.
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 The womb forgets him, The worm sweetens [on] him, He is remembered no more, And wickedness is broken as a tree.
Not even their mothers remember them now; wicked people are destroyed like trees that are cut down, and maggots eat their corpses.
21 Treating evil the barren [who] does not bear, And he does no good [to] the widow,
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 [God] has drawn the mighty by His power, He rises, and none believes in life.
But God, by his power, gets rid of mighty/influential people. God acts and causes the wicked people to die.
23 He gives to him confidence, and he is supported, And His eyes [are] on their ways.
God allows them to think that they are secure and safe, but he is watching [MTY] them all the time.
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.
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 And if not now, who proves me a liar, And makes my word of nothing?”
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?”
