Job 24
Lexham English Bible
Job’s Eighth Speech, Continued
24 “Why are not times kept by Shaddai,
and why do not those who know him see his days?
2 They[a] remove border stones;
they seize flocks, and they pasture them.
3 They drive away the donkey of orphans;
they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
4 They thrust the poor off the road;
the needy of the earth hide themselves together.[b]
5 “Look, like wild donkeys in the desert
they[c] go out to their labor as searchers for the prey;
the wilderness is[d] their[e] food for the young.
6 They reap their[f] fodder in the field,
and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They spend the night naked, without[g] clothing,
and they have no garment in the cold.
8 They are wet from the rainstorm of the mountains,[h]
and they cling to the rock without[i] refuge.
9 “They[j] snatch the orphan from the breast,
and they take a pledge against the needy.[k]
10 They[l] go about naked, without clothing,
and hungry, they carry the sheaves.[m]
11 Between their terraces they press out oil;
they tread the presses, but[n] they are thirsty.
12 From the city people groan,
and the throat[o] of the wounded cries for help;
yet[p] God does not regard it as unseemly.[q]
13 “Those are among the ones rebelling against the light;
they do not recognize his ways,
and they do not stay in his paths.
14 At dusk[r] the murderer rises;
he kills the needy and the poor,
and in the night he is like a[s] thief.
15 And the eye of the adulterer waits for dusk,
saying, ‘No eye will see me,’[t]
and he places a covering on his face.
16 He digs through houses in the darkness;
by day they shut themselves in—
they do not know the light
17 because morning likewise is to them deep darkness;
indeed, they know about the terrors of deep darkness.
18 “He himself[u] is swift on the water’s surface;
their portion is cursed in the land.
No one turns toward the path of their vineyards.[v]
19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters,
like Sheol snatches away those[w] who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets him.
The maggot feasts on him until he is no longer remembered,
and wickedness is broken like a[x] tree.
21 He feeds on the barren, who does not have a child,
and does no good to the widow.
22 Yet[y] he[z] carries off the tyrants by his strength;
if he rises up, then[aa] he[ab] cannot be certain of life.[ac]
23 He[ad] gives security to him, and he is[ae] supported,
but[af] his eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted a little while, then[ag] they are gone.[ah]
And they are brought low; they are cut off like all others,
and like the heads of grain they wither away.
25 “And if it is not so, then who can prove me a liar
and reduce my word to nothing?”
Footnotes
- Job 24:2 Or “Some” (NASU, ESV) or “Men” (NIV, NET)
- Job 24:4 Or “altogether”
- Job 24:5 That is, the poor
- Job 24:5 Or “provides”
- Job 24:5 Hebrew “for their”
- Job 24:6 Hebrew “his”
- Job 24:7 Literally “from not”
- Job 24:8 Or “from the mountain rainstorm”
- Job 24:8 Literally “from not”
- Job 24:9 That is, those who oppress the poor
- Job 24:9 Or “And they take the child of the needy as a pledge”
- Job 24:10 That is, the poor
- Job 24:10 Or “and they carry the sheaves though hungry”
- Job 24:11 Hebrew “and”
- Job 24:12 Or “soul,” or “inner self”
- Job 24:12 Hebrew “and”
- Job 24:12 Literally “he puts offensiveness”
- Job 24:14 Literally “At the light”
- Job 24:14 Or “the”
- Job 24:15 Literally “‘An eye will not see me’”
- Job 24:18 Emphatic personal pronoun
- Job 24:18 Literally “He does not turn toward the path of the vineyard”
- Job 24:19 Or “they/them”
- Job 24:20 Or “the”
- Job 24:22 Hebrew “And”
- Job 24:22 The probable antecedent is God
- Job 24:22 Hebrew “and”
- Job 24:22 The antecedent of the singular here probably changes to the wicked person
- Job 24:22 Hebrew “the life”
- Job 24:23 The probable antecedent is God
- Job 24:23 Or “they are”
- Job 24:23 Hebrew “and”
- Job 24:24 Literally “and”
- Job 24:24 Literally “he is not”
Job 24
American Standard Version
24 [a]Why are times not laid up by the Almighty?
And why do not they that know him see his days?
2 There are that remove the landmarks;
They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
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 [b]poor of the earth all hide themselves.
5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert
They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for [c]food;
The wilderness yieldeth them bread for their children.
6 They cut [d]their provender in the field;
And they glean the vintage of the wicked.
7 They lie all night naked without clothing,
And 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 There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast,
And [e]take a pledge of the poor;
10 So that they go about naked without clothing,
And being hungry they carry the sheaves.
11 They make oil within the walls of these men;
They tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
12 From out of the [f]populous city men groan,
And the soul of the wounded crieth out:
Yet God regardeth not the folly.
13 These are of them that rebel against the light;
They know not the ways thereof,
Nor abide in the paths thereof.
14 The murderer riseth with the light;
He killeth the poor and needy;
And in the night he is as a thief.
15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight,
Saying, No eye shall see me:
And he [g]disguiseth his face.
16 In the dark they dig through houses:
[h]They shut themselves up in the day-time;
They know not the light.
17 For [i]the morning is to all of them as thick darkness;
For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
18 [j]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.
19 Drought and heat [k]consume the snow waters:
So doth Sheol those that have sinned.
20 The womb shall forget him;
The worm shall feed sweetly on him;
He shall be no more remembered;
And unrighteousness shall be broken [l]as a tree.
21 He devoureth the barren that beareth not,
And doeth not good to the widow.
22 Yet God preserveth the mighty by his power:
He riseth up that hath no assurance of life.
23 God giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon;
[m]And his eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone;
[n]Yea, they are brought low, they are [o]taken out of the way as all others,
And are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.
25 And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar,
And make my speech nothing worth?
Footnotes
- Job 24:1 Or, Why is it, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, That they who know him see not his days?
- Job 24:4 Or, meek
- Job 24:5 Hebrew prey.
- Job 24:6 Or, his
- Job 24:9 Or, take in pledge that which is on the poor
- Job 24:12 Hebrew city of men.
- Job 24:15 Or, putteth a covering on his face
- Job 24:16 Or, Which they had marked for themselves
- Job 24:17 Or, thick darkness is to all of them as the morning; For they etc.
- Job 24:18 Or, Ye say, Swiftly etc. Hebrew Swift is he etc.
- Job 24:19 Hebrew violently take away.
- Job 24:20 Or, as a tree; even he that devoureth etc.
- Job 24:23 Or, But
- Job 24:24 Or, And when they are etc.
- Job 24:24 Or, gathered in
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