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
New King James Version
Job Complains of Violence on the Earth
2 “Some remove (C)landmarks;
They seize flocks violently and feed on them;
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
They (D)take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
4 They push the needy off the road;
All the (E)poor of the land are forced to hide.
5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert,
They go out to their work, searching for food.
The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
6 They gather their fodder in the field
And glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They (F)spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains,
And (G)huddle around the rock for want of shelter.
9 “Some snatch the fatherless from the breast,
And take a pledge from the poor.
10 They cause the poor to go naked, without (H)clothing;
And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
11 They press out oil within their walls,
And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 The dying groan in the city,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God does not charge them with wrong.
13 “There are those who rebel against the light;
They do not know its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
14 (I)The murderer rises with the light;
He kills the poor and needy;
And in the night he is like a thief.
15 (J)The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
(K)Saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
And he [a]disguises his face.
16 In the dark they break into houses
Which they marked for themselves in the daytime;
(L)They do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death;
If someone recognizes them,
They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
18 “They should be swift on the face of the waters,
Their portion should be cursed in the earth,
So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.
19 As drought and heat [b]consume the snow waters,
So [c]the grave consumes those who have sinned.
20 The womb should forget him,
The worm should feed sweetly on him;
(M)He should be remembered no more,
And wickedness should be broken like a tree.
21 For he [d]preys on the barren who do not bear,
And does no good for the widow.
22 “But God draws the mighty away with His power;
He rises up, but no man is sure of life.
23 He gives them security, and they rely on it;
Yet (N)His eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little while,
Then they are gone.
They are brought low;
They are [e]taken out of the way like all others;
They dry out like the heads of grain.
25 “Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar,
And make my speech worth nothing?”
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
