Job 24
1 Ab Omnipotente non sunt abscondita tempora: qui autem noverunt eum, ignorant dies illius.
Why are times not laid up by the Almighty? And why do not they that know him see his days?
2 Alii terminos transtulerunt; diripuerunt greges, et paverunt eos.
There are that remove the landmarks; They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
3 Asinum pupillorum abegerunt, et abstulerunt pro pignore bovem viduæ.
They drive away the ass of the fatherless; They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 Subverterunt pauperum viam, et oppresserunt pariter mansuetos terræ.
They turn the needy out of the way: The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
5 Alii quasi onagri in deserto egrediuntur ad opus suum: vigilantes ad prædam, præparant panem liberis.
Behold, as wild asses in the desert They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; The wilderness [yieldeth] them bread for their children.
6 Agrum non suum demetunt, et vineam ejus, quem vi oppresserint, vindemiant.
They cut their provender in the field; And they glean the vintage of the wicked.
7 Nudos dimittunt homines, indumenta tollentes, quibus non est operimentum in frigore:
They lie all night naked without clothing, And have no covering in the cold.
8 quos imbres montium rigant, et non habentes velamen, amplexantur lapides.
They are wet with the showers of the mountains, And embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
9 Vim fecerunt deprædantes pupillos, et vulgum pauperem spoliaverunt.
There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge of the poor;
10 Nudis et incedentibus absque vestitu, et esurientibus tulerunt spicas.
[So that] they go about naked without clothing, And being hungry they carry the sheaves.
11 Inter acervos eorum meridiati sunt, qui calcatis torcularibus sitiunt.
They make oil within the walls of these men; They tread [their] winepresses, and suffer thirst.
12 De civitatibus fecerunt viros gemere, et anima vulneratorum clamavit: et Deus inultum abire non patitur.
From out of the populous city men groan, And the soul of the wounded crieth out: Yet God regardeth not the folly.
13 Ipsi fuerunt rebelles lumini: nescierunt vias ejus, nec reversi sunt per semitas ejus.
These are of them that rebel against the light; They know not the ways thereof, Nor abide in the paths thereof.
14 Mane primo consurgit homicida; interficit egenum et pauperem: per noctem vero erit quasi fur.
The murderer riseth with the light; He killeth the poor and needy; And in the night he is as a thief.
15 Oculus adulteri observat caliginem, dicens: Non me videbit oculus: et operiet vultum suum.
The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, Saying, No eye shall see me: And he disguiseth his face.
16 Perfodit in tenebris domos, sicut in die condixerant sibi, et ignoraverunt lucem.
In the dark they dig through houses: They shut themselves up in the day-time; They know not the light.
17 Si subito apparuerit aurora, arbitrantur umbram mortis: et sic in tenebris quasi in luce ambulant.
For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness; For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
18 Levis est super faciem aquæ: maledicta sit pars ejus in terra, nec ambulet per viam vinearum.
Swiftly they [pass away] upon the face of the waters; Their portion is cursed in the earth: They turn not into the way of the vineyards.
Drought and heat consume the snow waters: [So doth] Sheol [those that] have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
20 Obliviscatur ejus misericordia; dulcedo illius vermes: non sit in recordatione, sed conteratur quasi lignum infructuosum.
The womb shall forget him; The worm shall feed sweetly on him; He shall be no more remembered; And unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.
21 Pavit enim sterilem quæ non parit, et viduæ bene non fecit.
He devoureth the barren that beareth not, And doeth not good to the widow.
22 Detraxit fortes in fortitudine sua, et cum steterit, non credet vitæ suæ.
Yet [God] preserveth the mighty by his power: He riseth up that hath no assurance of life.
23 Dedit ei Deus locum pœnitentiæ, et ille abutitur eo in superbiam: oculi autem ejus sunt in viis illius.
[God] giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon; And his eyes are upon their ways.
24 Elevati sunt ad modicum, et non subsistent: et humiliabuntur sicut omnia, et auferentur, et sicut summitates spicarum conterentur.
They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone; Yea, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others, And are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.
25 Quod si non est ita, quis me potest arguere esse mentitum, et ponere ante Deum verba mea?
And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech nothing worth?
