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Job 24

Job continues to speak [ a ]

24 Why has Almighty God not yet decided the time
when he will judge wicked people?
People who serve him faithfully continue to wait for justice.
2 Wicked men move the stones that show the edge of their neighbour's land. [ b ]
They take their neighbour's land and his sheep for themselves.
3 They take away a donkey
that belongs to a child who has no family.
They take an ox away from a widow,
when they lend money to her.
4 They stop poor people from receiving justice.
Poor people have to run away from them and hide.
5 Poor people have to look for food to eat,
like wild donkeys in the desert.
They have to find food for their children to eat.
6 They find grain in the fields of other people.
They pick grapes that remain in the vineyards of wicked people.
7 They have no clothes to wear during the cold nights.
They sleep without anything to cover themselves.
8 The rain that falls in the mountains makes them very wet.
So they hide among the rocks where they try to keep dry.
9 When wicked people lend money to poor people,
they even take a child whose father has died away from his mother.
10 Poor people have to go out with no clothes to wear.
They are hungry while they carry the crops of other people.
11 They squeeze oil from olives
that grow in the fields of other people.
They also make wine from other people's grapes.
But they themselves are thirsty.
12 In the cities, people who are dying cry with pain.
They call for help,
but God does not punish the people who have hurt them.

13 Some people refuse to live in the light.
They do not understand it.
They do not go along the good way that it shows to them.
14 Murderers rob people when it is still dark.
They kill poor, weak people during the night.
15 Adulterers wait until it is becoming dark.
They think that no one will see them.
They cover their faces
so that no one will recognize them.
16 Robbers go into people's homes in the dark
to take away their things.
But they stay inside during the day.
They never go out in the light.
17 They all like to do evil things at night,
rather than in the light of morning.
They are not afraid of things that happen in the dark,
as other people are.

18 You may say, “Floods of water carry away wicked people. [ c ]
God curses the land that belongs to them.
Nobody goes to work in their vineyards.
19 Snow soon disappears
when the weather is very hot or very dry.
In the same way, death quickly takes away people who do bad things.
20 Their mothers soon forget them.
Worms eat their bodies.
No one remembers those wicked people.
They are like dead trees that people have cut down.
21 Those wicked people are cruel to women who have no children.
They are not kind to widows.
22 But God uses his strength to remove powerful people.
When he attacks wicked people,
their lives are in his hands.
23 God allows them to feel safe.
But he is always watching everything that they do.
24 Wicked people may have success for a short time,
but suddenly they disappear!
Like everyone else, they fall to the ground.
They become like crops that people cut down at harvest time.”

25 What I have said is true.
Nobody can say that I am telling lies.
You cannot think that my words are useless.’

Footnotes

  1. 24:1 In chapter 24, Job speaks about the bad things that happen in the world. He does not understand why God does not punish bad people. Then he remembers that bad people die in the end, like everyone else.
  2. 24:2 See Deuteronomy 19:14 ; 27:17 .
  3. 24:18 In verses 18–24, Job seems to be repeating things that his friends have been saying. They are not things that he himself agrees with.

24 “Why doesn’t God All-Powerful set times for judgment?
And why can’t his followers know when those times will be?

2 “People move property markers to get more of their neighbor’s land.
People steal flocks and lead them to other grasslands.
3 They steal a donkey that belongs to an orphan.
They take a widow’s cow until she pays what she owes them.
9 [ a ] They take a nursing baby from its mother.
They take a poor person’s child to guarantee a loan.
4 They force the poor to move out of their way
and to get off the road.

5 “The poor are like wild donkeys that go out to the desert to find food.
From morning to night they work to gather food for their children.
6 They have to work in the fields, harvesting grain.
They work for the rich, [ b ] gathering grapes in their vineyards.
7 They must sleep all night without clothes.
They have no covers to protect them from the cold.
8 They are soaked with rain in the mountains.
They stay close to the large rocks for shelter.
10 They have no clothes, so they work naked.
They carry piles of grain for others, but they go hungry.
11 They press out olive oil
and walk on grapes in the winepress, but they have nothing to drink.
12 In the city you can hear the sad sounds of dying people.
Those who are hurt cry out for help, but God does not listen.

13 “Some people rebel against the light.
They don’t know what God wants.
They don’t live the way he wants.
14 A murderer gets up at dawn and kills poor, helpless people.
And at night he becomes a thief.
15 A man who commits adultery waits for the night to come.
He thinks, ‘No one will see me,’ but still, he covers his face.
16 When it is dark, evil people go out and break into houses.
But during the day they lock themselves in their homes to avoid the light.
17 The darkest night is their morning.
They are friends with the terrors of darkness.

18 “ You say, ‘Evil people are taken away like things carried away in a flood.
The land they own is cursed, so no one goes to work in their vineyards.
19 As hot, dry weather melts away the winter snows,
so the grave takes away those who have sinned.
20 Their own mothers will forget them.
Only the worms will want them.
No one will remember them.
They will be broken like a rotten stick!
21 These evil people hurt women who have no children to protect them,
and they refuse to help widows.
22 By his power God removes the powerful.
Even if they have a high position, they cannot be sure of their lives.
23 They might feel safe and secure,
but God is watching how they live.
24 They might be successful for a while, but then they will be gone.
Like everyone else, they will be cut down like grain.’

25 “I swear these things are true!
Who can prove that I lied?
Who can show that I am wrong?”

Footnotes

  1. Job 24:9 In the Hebrew text this verse follows verse 8.
  2. Job 24:6 the rich Or “the wicked.”

24 Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?

2 Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.

3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.

4 They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.

5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.

6 They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked.

7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.

8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.

9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.

10 They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;

11 Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.

12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.

13 They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

14 The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.

15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.

16 In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.

17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

18 He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

20 The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.

21 He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.

22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.

24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?

Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs

24 “ ( A ) Why are [ a ] times not stored up by the Almighty,
And why do those who know Him not see ( B ) His [ b ] days?
2 People ( C ) remove landmarks;
They seize and [ c ] devour flocks.
3 They drive away the donkeys of ( D ) orphans;
They seize the ( E ) widow’s ox as a pledge.
4 They push ( F ) the needy aside from the road;
The ( G ) poor of the land have to hide themselves together.
5 Behold, like ( H ) wild donkeys in the wilderness
They ( I ) go out scavenging for food in their activity,
As [ d ] bread for their children in the desert.
6 They harvest their feed in the field
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
7 ( J ) They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.
8 They are wet from the mountain rains,
And they hug the rock for lack of a shelter.
9 Others snatch an ( K ) orphan from the breast,
And they seize it as a pledge against the poor.
10 The poor move about naked without clothing,
And they carry sheaves, while going hungry.
11 Within the walls they produce oil;
They tread wine presses but go thirsty.
12 From the city people groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry for help;
Yet God ( L ) does not pay attention to the offensiveness.

13 “ [ e ] Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to know its ways
Nor stay in its paths.
14 The murderer ( M ) arises at dawn;
He ( N ) kills the poor and the needy,
And at night he is like a thief.
15 The eye of the ( O ) adulterer watches for [ f ] twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’
And he [ g ] disguises his face.
16 In the darkness they ( P ) dig into houses,
They ( Q ) shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness,
For he is familiar with the ( R ) terrors of thick darkness.

18 “They are [ h ] ( S ) insignificant on the surface of the water;
Their plot of land on the earth is ( T ) cursed.
They do not turn [ i ] toward the ( U ) vineyards.
19 Dryness and heat ( V ) snatch away the snow waters,
As [ j ] ( W ) Sheol snatches those who have sinned.
20 A [ k ] ( X ) mother will forget him;
The ( Y ) maggot feeds sweetly until he is ( Z ) no longer remembered.
And injustice will be broken ( AA ) like a tree.
21 He wrongs the [ l ] infertile woman,
And does no good for ( AB ) the widow.
22 But He drags off the mighty by ( AC ) His power;
He rises, but ( AD ) no one has assurance of life.
23 He provides them ( AE ) with security, and they are supported;
And His ( AF ) eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted a ( AG ) little while, then they are gone;
Moreover, they are ( AH ) brought low, and like everything they are gathered up;
Like the heads of grain they wither.
25 Now if it is not so, ( AI ) who can prove me a liar,
And make my speech worthless?”

Footnotes

  1. Job 24:1 I.e., of judgment for the wicked
  2. Job 24:1 I.e., of judgment for the wicked
  3. Job 24:2 Or pasture
  4. Job 24:5 Lit his bread
  5. Job 24:13 Lit They
  6. Job 24:15 Lit the twilight
  7. Job 24:15 Or puts a covering on his face
  8. Job 24:18 Or light ; or swift
  9. Job 24:18 Lit to the path of
  10. Job 24:19 I.e., the netherworld
  11. Job 24:20 Lit womb
  12. Job 24:21 Lit infertile who does not bear

24 “Why does the Almighty not set times ( A ) for judgment? ( B )
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days? ( C )
2 There are those who move boundary stones; ( D )
they pasture flocks they have stolen. ( E )
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox in pledge. ( F )
4 They thrust the needy ( G ) from the path
and force all the poor ( H ) of the land into hiding. ( I )
5 Like wild donkeys ( J ) in the desert,
the poor go about their labor ( K ) of foraging food;
the wasteland ( L ) provides food for their children.
6 They gather fodder ( M ) in the fields
and glean in the vineyards ( N ) of the wicked. ( O )
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold. ( P )
8 They are drenched ( Q ) by mountain rains
and hug ( R ) the rocks for lack of shelter. ( S )
9 The fatherless ( T ) child is snatched ( U ) from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized ( V ) for a debt. ( W )
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked; ( X )
they carry the sheaves, ( Y ) but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces [ a ] ;
they tread the winepresses, ( Z ) yet suffer thirst. ( AA )
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help. ( AB )
But God charges no one with wrongdoing. ( AC )

13 “There are those who rebel against the light, ( AD )
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths. ( AE )
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
kills ( AF ) the poor and needy, ( AG )
and in the night steals forth like a thief. ( AH )
15 The eye of the adulterer ( AI ) watches for dusk; ( AJ )
he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’ ( AK )
and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses, ( AL )
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light. ( AM )
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
they make friends with the terrors ( AN ) of darkness. ( AO )

18 “Yet they are foam ( AP ) on the surface of the water; ( AQ )
their portion of the land is cursed, ( AR )
so that no one goes to the vineyards. ( AS )
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, ( AT )
so the grave ( AU ) snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
the worm ( AV ) feasts on them; ( AW )
the wicked are no longer remembered ( AX )
but are broken like a tree. ( AY )
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow they show no kindness. ( AZ )
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power; ( BA )
though they become established, ( BB ) they have no assurance of life. ( BC )
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security, ( BD )
but his eyes ( BE ) are on their ways. ( BF )
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone; ( BG )
they are brought low and gathered up like all others; ( BH )
they are cut off like heads of grain. ( BI )

25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?” ( BJ )

Footnotes

  1. Job 24:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
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