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Job Asks Why the Wicked Are Not Punished

24 “Why doesn’t the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment?
    Why must the godly wait for him in vain?
Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers.
    They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures.
They take the orphan’s donkey
    and demand the widow’s ox as security for a loan.
The poor are pushed off the path;
    the needy must hide together for safety.
Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,
    the poor must spend all their time looking for food,
    searching even in the desert for food for their children.
They harvest a field they do not own,
    and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
All night they lie naked in the cold,
    without clothing or covering.
They are soaked by mountain showers,
    and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home.

“The wicked snatch a widow’s child from her breast,
    taking the baby as security for a loan.
10 The poor must go about naked, without any clothing.
    They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving.
11 They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it,
    and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
    and the wounded cry for help,
    yet God ignores their moaning.

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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?
People (C)remove landmarks;
They seize and [c]devour flocks.
They drive away the donkeys of (D)orphans;
They seize the (E)widow’s ox as a pledge.
They push (F)the needy aside from the road;
The (G)poor of the land have to hide themselves together.
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.
They harvest their feed in the field
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
(J)They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.
They are wet from the mountain rains,
And they hug the rock for lack of a shelter.
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.

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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

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)
There are those who move boundary stones;(D)
    they pasture flocks they have stolen.(E)
They drive away the orphan’s donkey
    and take the widow’s ox in pledge.(F)
They thrust the needy(G) from the path
    and force all the poor(H) of the land into hiding.(I)
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.
They gather fodder(M) in the fields
    and glean in the vineyards(N) of the wicked.(O)
Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
    they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.(P)
They are drenched(Q) by mountain rains
    and hug(R) the rocks for lack of shelter.(S)
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)

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Footnotes

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