Ἰώβ 24
1 διὰ τί δὲ κύριον ἔλαθον ὧραι
“(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 ἀσεβεῖς δὲ ὅριον ὑπερέβησαν ποίμνιον σὺν ποιμένι ἁρπάσαντες
[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 ὑποζύγιον ὀρφανῶν ἀπήγαγον καὶ βοῦν χήρας ἠνεχύρασαν
[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 ἐξέκλιναν ἀδυνάτους ἐξ ὁδοῦ δικαίας ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐκρύβησαν πραεῖς γῆς
[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 ἀπέβησαν δὲ ὥσπερ ὄνοι ἐν ἀγρῷ ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ ἐξελθόντες τὴν ἑαυτῶν πρᾶξιν ἡδύνθη αὐτῷ ἄρτος εἰς νεωτέρους
The result is that poor people have to search for food in the desert like wild donkeys do.
6 ἀγρὸν πρὸ ὥρας οὐκ αὐτῶν ὄντα ἐθέρισαν ἀδύνατοι δὲ ἀμπελῶνας ἀσεβῶν ἀμισθὶ καὶ ἀσιτὶ ἠργάσαντο
The poor people harvest left-over grain in other people’s fields, and gather grapes from vineyards that belong to wicked men.
7 γυμνοὺς πολλοὺς ἐκοίμισαν ἄνευ ἱματίων ἀμφίασιν δὲ ψυχῆς αὐτῶν ἀφείλαντο
During the night they have nothing to cover their bodies, nothing to keep them warm.
8 ἀπὸ ψεκάδων ὀρέων ὑγραίνονται παρὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν αὐτοὺς σκέπην πέτραν περιεβάλοντο
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 ἥρπασαν ὀρφανὸν ἀπὸ μαστοῦ ἐκπεπτωκότα δὲ ἐταπείνωσαν
[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 γυμνοὺς δὲ ἐκοίμισαν ἀδίκως πεινώντων δὲ τὸν ψωμὸν ἀφείλαντο
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 ἐν στενοῖς ἀδίκως ἐνήδρευσαν ὁδὸν δὲ δικαίαν οὐκ ᾔδεισαν
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 οἳ ἐκ πόλεως καὶ οἴκων ἰδίων ἐξεβάλλοντο ψυχὴ δὲ νηπίων ἐστέναξεν μέγα αὐτὸς δὲ διὰ τί τούτων ἐπισκοπὴν οὐ πεποίηται
In the cities, people who are wounded and dying cry out [to God for help], but God does not heed their prayers.
13 ἐπὶ γῆς ὄντων αὐτῶν καὶ οὐκ ἐπέγνωσαν ὁδὸν δὲ δικαιοσύνης οὐκ ᾔδεισαν οὐδὲ ἀτραποὺς αὐτῆς ἐπορεύθησαν
Some wicked people avoid the light [because they do evil things in the dark]; they do not walk on roads that are lighted.
14 γνοὺς δὲ αὐτῶν τὰ ἔργα παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς εἰς σκότος καὶ νυκτὸς ἔσται ὡς κλέπτης
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 καὶ ὀφθαλμὸς μοιχοῦ ἐφύλαξεν σκότος λέγων οὐ προσνοήσει με ὀφθαλμός καὶ ἀποκρυβὴν προσώπου ἔθετο
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 διώρυξεν ἐν σκότει οἰκίας ἡμέρας ἐσφράγισαν ἑαυτούς οὐκ ἐπέγνωσαν φῶς
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 ὅτι ὁμοθυμαδὸν τὸ πρωὶ αὐτοῖς σκιὰ θανάτου ὅτι ἐπιγνώσεται ταραχὰς σκιᾶς θανάτου
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 ἐλαφρός ἐστιν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ὕδατος καταραθείη ἡ μερὶς αὐτῶν ἐπὶ γῆς
“[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 εἶτ’ ἀνεμνήσθη αὐτοῦ ἡ ἁμαρτία ὥσπερ δὲ ὁμίχλη δρόσου ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο ἀποδοθείη δὲ αὐτῷ ἃ ἔπραξεν συντριβείη δὲ πᾶς ἄδικος ἴσα ξύλῳ ἀνιάτῳ
Not even their mothers remember them now; wicked people are destroyed like trees that are cut down, and maggots eat their corpses.
21 στεῖραν γὰρ οὐκ εὖ ἐποίησεν καὶ γύναιον οὐκ ἠλέησεν
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 θυμῷ δὲ κατέστρεψεν ἀδυνάτους ἀναστὰς τοιγαροῦν οὐ μὴ πιστεύσῃ κατὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ζωῆς
But God, by his power, gets rid of mighty/influential people. God acts and causes the wicked people to die.
23 μαλακισθεὶς μὴ ἐλπιζέτω ὑγιασθῆναι ἀλλὰ πεσεῖται νόσῳ
God allows them to think that they are secure and safe, but he is watching [MTY] them all the time.
24 πολλοὺς γὰρ ἐκάκωσεν τὸ ὕψωμα αὐτοῦ ἐμαράνθη δὲ ὥσπερ μολόχη ἐν καύματι ἢ ὥσπερ στάχυς ἀπὸ καλάμης αὐτόματος ἀποπεσών
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 εἰ δὲ μή τίς ἐστιν ὁ φάμενος ψευδῆ με λέγειν καὶ θήσει εἰς οὐδὲν τὰ ῥήματά μου
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?”
