Job 24
1 Ab Omnipotente non sunt abscondita tempora: qui autem noverunt eum, ignorant dies illius.
“(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 Alii terminos transtulerunt, diripuerunt greges, et paverunt eos.
[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 Asinum pupillorum abegerunt, et abstulerunt pro pignore bovem viduæ.
[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 Subverterunt pauperum viam, et oppresserunt pariter mansuetos terræ.
[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 Alii quasi onagri in deserto egrediuntur ad opus suum: vigilantes ad prædam, præparant panem liberis.
The result is that poor people have to search for food in the desert like wild donkeys do.
6 Agrum non suum demetunt: et vineam eius, quem vi oppresserint, vindemiant.
The poor people harvest left-over grain in other people’s fields, and gather grapes from vineyards that belong to wicked men.
7 Nudos dimittunt homines, indumenta tollentes, quibus non est operimentum in frigore:
During the night they have nothing to cover their bodies, nothing to keep them warm.
8 Quos imbres montium rigant: et non habentes velamen, amplexantur lapides.
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 Vim fecerunt deprædantes pupillos, et vulgum pauperem spoliaverunt.
[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 Nudis et incedentibus absque vestitu, et esurientibus tulerunt spicas.
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 Inter acervos eorum meridiati sunt, qui calcatis torcularibus sitiunt.
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 De civitatibus fecerunt viros gemere, et anima vulneratorum clamavit, et Deus inultum abire non patitur.
In the cities, people who are wounded and dying cry out [to God for help], but God does not heed their prayers.
13 Ipsi fuerunt rebelles lumini, nescierunt vias eius, nec reversi sunt per semitas eius.
Some wicked people avoid the light [because they do evil things in the dark]; they do not walk on roads that are lighted.
14 Mane primo consurgit homicida, interficit egenum et pauperem: per noctem vero erit quasi fur.
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 Oculus adulteri observat caliginem, dicens: Non me videbit oculus: et operiet vultum suum.
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 Perfodit in tenebris domos, sicut in die condixerant sibi, et ignoraverunt lucem.
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 Si subito apparuerit aurora, arbitrantur umbram mortis: et sic in tenebris quasi in luce ambulant.
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 Levis est super faciem aquæ: maledicta sit pars eius in terra, nec ambulet per viam vinearum.
“[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 Obliviscatur eius misericordia: dulcedo illius vermes: non sit in recordatione, sed conteratur quasi lignum infructuosum.
Not even their mothers remember them now; wicked people are destroyed like trees that are cut down, and maggots eat their corpses.
21 Pavit enim sterilem, quæ non parit, et viduæ bene non fecit.
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 Detraxit fortes in fortitudine sua: et cum steterit, non credet vitæ suæ.
But God, by his power, gets rid of mighty/influential people. God acts and causes the wicked people to die.
23 Dedit ei Deus locum pœnitentiæ, et ille abutitur eo in superbiam: oculi autem eius sunt in viis illius.
God allows them to think that they are secure and safe, but he is watching [MTY] them all the time.
24 Elevati sunt ad modicum, et non subsistent, et humiliabuntur sicut omnia, et auferentur, et sicut summitates spicarum conterentur.
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 Quod si non est ita, quis me potest arguere esse mentitum, et ponere ante Deum verba mea?
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?”
