Job 24

Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs

1 “ ^aWhy are ▼

▼I.e., of judgment for the wicked

times not stored up by the Almighty,
And why do those who know Him not see ^cHis ▼

▼I.e., of judgment for the wicked

days?
2 “People ^eremove landmarks;
They seize and ▼

▼Or pasture

devour flocks.
3 “They drive away the donkeys of ^gorphans;
They seize the ^hwidow’s ox as a pledge.
4 “They push ⁱthe needy aside from the road;
The ^jpoor of the land have to hide themselves together.
5 “Behold, like ^kwild donkeys in the wilderness
They ^lgo out scavenging for food in their activity,
As ▼

▼Lit his bread

bread for their children in the desert.
6 “They harvest their feed in the field
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
7 “ ⁿThey 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 ^oorphan 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 ^pdoes not pay attention to the offensiveness.

13 “ ▼

▼Lit They

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 ^rarises at dawn;
He ^skills the poor and the needy,
And at night he is like a thief.
15 “The eye of the ^tadulterer watches for ▼

▼Lit the twilight

twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’
And he ▼

▼Or puts a covering on his face

disguises his face.
16 “In the darkness they ^wdig into houses,
They ^xshut 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 ^yterrors of thick darkness.

18 “They are ▼

▼Or light; or swift

, ^aainsignificant on the surface of the water;
Their plot of land on the earth is ^abcursed.
They do not turn ▼

▼Lit to the path of

toward the ^advineyards.
19 “Dryness and heat ^aesnatch away the snow waters,
As ▼

▼I.e., the netherworld

, ^agSheol snatches those who have sinned.
20 “A ▼

▼Lit womb

, ^aimother will forget him;
The ^ajmaggot feeds sweetly until he is ^akno longer remembered.
And injustice will be broken ^allike a tree.
21 “He wrongs the ▼

▼Lit infertile who does not bear

infertile woman,
And does no good for ^anthe widow.
22 “But He drags off the mighty by ^aoHis power;
He rises, but ^apno one has assurance of life.
23 “He provides them ^aqwith security, and they are supported;
And His ^areyes are on their ways.
24 “They are exalted a ^aslittle while, then they are gone;
Moreover, they are ^atbrought low, and like everything they are gathered up;
Like the heads of grain they wither.
25 “Now if it is not so, ^auwho can prove me a liar,
And make my speech worthless?”