Job 24
World English Bible
24 “Why aren’t times laid up by the Almighty?
Why don’t those who know him see his days?
2 There are people who remove the landmarks.
They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless,
and they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 They turn the needy out of the way.
The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
5 Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert,
they go out to their work, seeking diligently for food.
The wilderness yields them bread for their children.
6 They cut their food in the field.
They glean the vineyard 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 lack of a shelter.
9 There are those who pluck the fatherless from the breast,
and take a pledge of the poor,
10 So that they go around naked without clothing.
Being hungry, they carry the sheaves.
11 They make oil within the walls of these men.
They tread wine presses, and suffer thirst.
12 From out of the populous city, men groan.
The soul of the wounded cries out,
yet God doesn’t regard the folly.
13 “These are of those who rebel against the light.
They don’t know its ways,
nor stay in its paths.
14 The murderer rises with the light.
He kills the poor and needy.
In the night he is like a thief.
15 The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
saying, ‘No eye will see me.’
He disguises his face.
16 In the dark they dig through houses.
They shut themselves up in the daytime.
They don’t know the light.
17 For the morning is to all of them like thick darkness,
for they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
18 “They are foam on the surface of the waters.
Their portion is cursed in the earth.
They don’t turn into the way of the vineyards.
19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters,
so does Sheol[a] those who have sinned.
20 The womb will forget him.
The worm will feed sweetly on him.
He will be no more remembered.
Unrighteousness will be broken as a tree.
21 He devours the barren who don’t bear.
He shows no kindness to the widow.
22 Yet God preserves the mighty by his power.
He rises up who has no assurance of life.
23 God gives them security, and they rest in it.
His eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone.
Yes, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others,
and are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.
25 If it isn’t so now, who will prove me a liar,
and make my speech worth nothing?”
Footnotes
- 24:19 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Job 24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Job Complains of Violence on the Earth
24 “Why are times not kept by the Almighty,[a]
and why do those who know him never see his days?(A)
2 The wicked[b] remove landmarks;
they seize flocks and pasture them.(B)
3 They drive away the donkey of the orphan;
they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.(C)
4 They thrust the needy off the road;
the poor of the earth all hide themselves.(D)
5 Like wild asses in the desert
they go out to their toil,
scavenging in the wasteland
food for their young.(E)
6 They reap in a field not their own,
and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They lie all night naked, without clothing,
and have no covering in the cold.(F)
8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains
and cling to the rock for want of shelter.(G)
9 “There are those who snatch the orphan child from the breast
and take as a pledge the infant of the poor.(H)
10 They go about naked, without clothing;
though hungry, they carry the sheaves;
11 between their terraces[c] they press out oil;
they tread the winepresses but suffer thirst.
12 From the city the dying groan,
and the throat of the wounded cries for help;
yet God pays no attention to their prayer.(I)
13 “There are those who rebel against the light,
who are not acquainted with its ways
and do not stay in its paths.(J)
14 The murderer rises at dusk
to kill the poor and needy
and in the night is like a thief.(K)
15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight,
saying, ‘No eye will see me,’
and he disguises his face.(L)
16 In the dark they dig through houses;
by day they shut themselves up;
they do not know the light.(M)
17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them;
for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.(N)
18 “Swift are they on the face of the waters;
their portion in the land is cursed;
no treader turns toward their vineyards.(O)
19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;
so does Sheol those who have sinned.(P)
20 The womb forgets them;
the worm finds them sweet;
they are no longer remembered,
so wickedness is broken like a tree.(Q)
21 “They harm[d] the childless woman
and do no good to the widow.(R)
22 Yet God[e] prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;
they rise up when they despair of life.(S)
23 He gives them security, and they are supported;
his eyes are upon their ways.(T)
24 They are exalted a little while and then are gone;
they wither and fade like the mallow;[f]
they are cut off like the heads of grain.(U)
25 If it is not so, who will prove me a liar
and show that there is nothing in what I say?”
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