Job 24
1 Ab Omnipotente non sunt abscondita tempora: qui autem noverunt eum, ignorant dies illius.
Why doesn't the Almighty set a definite time to punish the wicked? Why don't those who follow him never see him act in judgment?
2 Alii terminos transtulerunt, diripuerunt greges, et paverunt eos.
The wicked move boundary stones; they seize other people's flocks and move them to their own pastures.
3 Asinum pupillorum abegerunt, et abstulerunt pro pignore bovem viduae.
They steal the orphan's donkey; they take the widow's ox as security for a debt.
4 Subverterunt pauperum viam, et oppresserunt pariter mansuetos terrae.
They push the poor out of their way; the destitute are forced to hide from them.
5 Alii quasi onagri in deserto egrediuntur ad opus suum: vigilantes ad praedam, praeparant panem liberis.
Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor have to scavenge for their food, looking for anything to feed their children in the wasteland.
6 Agrum non suum demetunt: et vineam eius, quem vi oppresserint, vindemiant.
They are forced to find what they can in other people's fields, to glean among the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Nudos dimittunt homines, indumenta tollentes, quibus non est operimentum in frigore:
They spend the night naked because they have no clothes; they have nothing to cover themselves against the cold.
8 Quos imbres montium rigant: et non habentes velamen, amplexantur lapides.
They are soaked by the cold mountain storms, and huddle beside the rocks for shelter.
9 Vim fecerunt depraedantes pupillos, et vulgum pauperem spoliaverunt.
Fatherless children are snatched from their mother's breasts, taking the babies of the poor as security for a debt.
10 Nudis et incedentibus absque vestitu, et esurientibus tulerunt spicas.
Because they have no clothes to wear they have to go naked, harvesting sheaves of grain while they themselves are hungry.
11 Inter acervos eorum meridiati sunt, qui calcatis torcularibus sitiunt.
In the olive groves they work to produce oil, but do not taste it; they tread the winepress, but are thirsty.
12 De civitatibus fecerunt viros gemere, et anima vulneratorum clamavit, et Deus inultum abire non patitur.
In the city the dying groan, and the wounded cry for help, but God ignores their prayers.
13 Ipsi fuerunt rebelles lumini, nescierunt vias eius, nec reversi sunt per semitas eius.
These are people who rebel against the light. They do not want to know its ways, or to stay on its paths.
14 Mane primo consurgit homicida, interficit egenum et pauperem: per noctem vero erit quasi fur.
The murderer gets up at dawn to kill the poor and needy, and when night falls he becomes a thief.
15 Oculus adulteri observat caliginem, dicens: Non me videbit oculus: et operiet vultum suum.
The adulterer waits for dusk, saying to himself, ‘No one will see me now,’ and he covers his face.
16 Perfodit in tenebris domos, sicut in die condixerant sibi, et ignoraverunt lucem.
Thieves break into houses during the night and they sleep during the day. They don't even know what the light is like!
17 Si subito apparuerit aurora, arbitrantur umbram mortis: et sic in tenebris quasi in luce ambulant.
Total darkness is like light to them, for they are familiar with the night.
18 Levis est super faciem aquae: maledicta sit pars eius in terra, nec ambulet per viam vinearum.
Like bubbles on the surface of a river they are quickly carried away. The land they own is cursed by God. They don't enter their own vineyards.
Just as heat and drought dry up snowmelt, so Sheol takes away those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
20 Obliviscatur eius misericordia: dulcedo illius vermes: non sit in recordatione, sed conteratur quasi lignum infructuosum.
Even their mothers forget them, maggots feast on them, they are no longer remembered, and their wickedness becomes like a tree that is broken into pieces.
21 Pavit enim sterilem, et quae non parit, et viduae bene non fecit.
They mistreat childless women and are mean to widows.
22 Detraxit fortes in fortitudine sua: et cum steterit, non credet vitae suae.
God prolongs the life of the wicked by his power; but when they arise, they have no assurance of life.
23 Dedit ei Deus locum poenitentiae, et ille abutitur eo in superbiam: oculi autem eius sunt in viis illius.
He supports them and gives them security, but he is always watching what they're doing.
24 Elevati sunt ad modicum, et non subsistent, et humiliabuntur sicut omnia, et auferentur, et sicut summitates spicarum conterentur.
Though they may be illustrious for a while, soon they are gone. They are brought down like all others, cut off like the heads of grain.
25 Quod si non est ita, quis me potest arguere esse mentitum, et ponere ante Deum verba mea?
If this isn't so, who can prove I'm a liar and there's nothing to what I say?”
