Job 24
1 Tymes ben not hid fro Almyyti God; sotheli thei that knowen hym, knowen not hise daies.
“Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?
2 Othere men turneden ouer the termes of neiyboris eritage, thei token awei flockis, and fedden tho.
Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
3 Thei driueden awei the asse of fadirlesse children, and token awei the cow of a widewe for a wed.
They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4 Thei distrieden the weie of pore men, and thei oppressiden togidere the mylde men of erthe.
They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Othere men as wielde assis in deseert goon out to her werk; and thei waken to prey, and bifor maken redy breed to her children.
Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children.
6 Thei kitten doun a feeld not hern, and thei gaderen grapis of his vyner, whom thei han oppressid bi violence.
They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Thei leeuen men nakid, and taken awei the clothis, to whiche men is noon hiling in coold;
Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
8 whiche men the reynes of munteyns weeten, and thei han noon hilyng, and biclippen stoonys.
Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.
9 Thei diden violence, and robbiden fadirles and modirles children; and thei spuyliden, `ether robbiden, the comynte of pore men.
The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
10 Thei token awey eeris of corn fro nakid men, and goynge with out cloth, and fro hungry men.
Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 Thei weren hid in myddai among the heepis of tho men, that thirsten, whanne the presses ben trodun.
They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
12 Thei maden men of citees to weile, and the soulis of woundid men schulen crye; and God suffrith it not to go awei vnpunyschid.
From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.
13 Thei weren rebel to liyt; thei knewen not the weyes therof, nether thei turneden ayen bi the pathis therof.
Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
14 A mansleere risith ful eerli, and sleeth a nedi man, and a pore man; sotheli bi nyyt he schal be as a nyyt theef.
When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.
15 The iye of avouter kepith derknesse, and seith, An yye schal not se me; and he schal hile his face.
The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.
16 Thei mynen housis in derknessis, as thei seiden togidere to hem silf in the dai; and thei knewen not liyt.
In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.
17 If the morewtid apperith sudeynli, thei demen the schadewe of deth; and so thei goon in derknessis as in liyt.
For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!
18 He is vnstablere than the face of the water; his part in erthe be cursid, and go he not bi the weie of vyneris.
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 Passe he to ful greet heete fro the watris of snowis, and the synne of hym `til to hellis. (Sheol h7585)
As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
20 Merci foryete hym; his swetnesse be a worm; be he not in mynde, but be he al to-brokun as `a tre vnfruytful.
The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree.
21 For he fedde the bareyn, and hir that childith not, and he dide not wel to the widewe.
They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
22 He drow doun stronge men in his strengthe; and whanne he stondith in `greet state, he schal not bileue to his lijf.
Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.
23 God yaf to hym place of penaunce, and he mysusith that in to pride; for the iyen of God ben in the weies of that man.
He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.
24 Thei ben reisid at a litil, and thei schulen not stonde; and thei schulen be maad low as alle thingis, and thei schulen be takun awei; and as the hyynessis of eeris of corn thei schulen be al to-brokun.
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 That if it is not so, who may repreue me, that Y liede, and putte my wordis bifor God?
If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
