Job 24
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 24
The Injustice Crying Out in the World[a]
1 “The actual day of judgment is known by the Almighty;
why does he not reveal it to his faithful?[b]
2 Those who are wicked move boundary stones;
they seize flocks and pasture them.
3 They drive off the donkey belonging to the orphan;
they take away the widow’s ox as security.
4 They push aside the needy off the road;
those who are destitute are forced into hiding.
5 “Like wild donkeys of the wilderness
the poor go forth at dawn
searching the wasteland for food
with which to feed their children.
6 In the fields they reap what is not theirs
and steal from the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Without clothing, they spend the night naked,
lacking anything to shelter them from the cold.
8 They are soaked by the mountain rain
and cling to the rocks as a source of shelter.
9 “The fatherless child is snatched from the breast
and carried off as a pledge of security.
10 They go about their work naked, without clothing;
despite their hunger they carry the sheaves.
11 Along the pathways they press out the oil;
they tread the winepresses but themselves suffer thirst.
12 From the town the groans of the dying are heard,
and those who are wounded cry out for help,
yet God remains deaf to their prayer.
13 “There also are those who rebel against the light;
they are ignorant of its ways
and refuse to frequent its paths.
14 When nightfall descends, the murderer arises
to slay the poor and the needy;
during the night he steals forth like a thief.
15 “The eye of the adulterer also waits eagerly for twilight,
thinking, ‘No eye will see me.’
16 In the darkness men break into houses,
but during the day they shut themselves in,
for they are strangers to daylight.
17 Deep darkness is morning to them;
they only feel comfortable amid the terrors of the night.
God Carefully Monitors the Conduct of the Mighty[c]
18 “Such men are debris on the surface of the water;
their portion in the land is accursed,
and no laborer will toil in their vineyards.
19 As drought and heat melt the snow,
so does the netherworld cause sinners to disappear.
20 The womb that shaped them remembers them no more,
and the worm sucks them dry.
21 “They maltreat the barren and childless woman
and show no kindness to the widow.
22 God may sustain the mighty through his strength,
but he carefully monitors their conduct.
23 He grants them a sense of security,
but his eyes are fixed on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a while,
and then they are gone;
they wither and fade like a flower,
shriveling up like ears of grain.
25 “If all this is not true, who will prove me wrong
and show that my words are sheer nonsense?”
Footnotes
- Job 24:1 Here, as in places elsewhere, the translations differ widely (but without any of them achieving a clear meaning) in an effort to correct an unintelligible original.
- Job 24:1 Job is eagerly, but vainly, looking for the moment when God will intervene as on the “day of the Lord,” or day of judgment, foretold by the Prophets (see Am 5:18).
- Job 24:18 This passage unduly breaks into the speech. Some critics prefer to think that it was displaced when the texts were being transcribed and that it should be put after Job 27:23, which is likewise anomalous. The two passages, which fit together rather well, would then make up Zophar’s third speech.
Jòb 24
Haitian Creole Version
24 ¶ Poukisa Bondye ki gen tout pouvwa a pa fikse yon dat pou li jije tout moun, yon jou pou li rann tout moun k'ap sèvi l' yo jistis?
2 Mechan yo deplase bòn tè moun. Yo vòlò mouton lòt moun, mete ansanm avèk bann mouton pa yo.
3 Yo pran bourik ki pou timoun san papa yo. Yo sezi bèf vèv la jouk li resi peye dèt li.
4 Yo enpoze pòv yo jwenn sa ki vin pou yo. Yo fòse tout pòv malere kouri al kache.
5 Tankou bourik mawon, pòv yo soti al nan dezè a, y' al chache lavi pou pitit yo ki grangou. Pa gen lòt kote yo ka ale.
6 Y'ap ranmase rekòt pou lòt moun. Y'ap keyi rezen nan jaden pou mechan yo.
7 Lè yo toutouni, yo pa gen rad pou mete sou yo. Lannwit, yo pa gen anyen pou chofe kò yo lè yo frèt.
8 Lapli k'ap tonbe sou mòn yo mouye yo jouk nan zo. Yo kwoupi kò yo dèyè wòch pou pare lapli.
9 Mechan yo wete timoun san papa yo nan men manman yo pou fè yo tounen esklav. Yo pran rad pòv malere yo pou garanti dèt yo.
10 Pòv yo menm ap mache yon men devan yon men dèyè, san rad pou mete sou yo. Y'ap mache ranmase rekòt nan jaden, men y'ap mouri grangou.
11 Nan lakou mechan yo y'ap moulen grenn oliv fè lwil. Y'ap kraze rezen fè diven. Men y'ap mouri swaf dlo.
12 Nan lavil yo, ou tande moun k'ap mouri yo ap plenn. Ou tande moun ki blese yo ap rele anmwe. Men, Bondye fè tankou li pa tande yo.
13 ¶ Se moun sa yo ki pa vle wè limyè a. Yo derefize konprann limyè a. Yo pa vle pran chemen limyè a nan tou sa y'ap fè.
14 Anvan bajou kase, ansasen an gen tan leve, pou li al touye pòv malere yo. Lannwit, se vòlò l'ap mache vòlò.
15 Mouche marye k'ap fè adiltè a ap tann solèy kouche konsa. Li bouche figi l' pou pesonn pa wè l'.
16 Lannwit, vòlè ap kraze kay moun. Lajounen yo kache, y'ap kouri pou solèy.
17 Yo pè limyè lajounen an. Men, pa gen anyen ki pou fè yo pè nan fènwa a.
18 ¶ Lè sa a, Sofa di konsa: -Men dlo desann pote mechan yo ale. Madichon Bondye tonbe sou tout tè ki pou yo. Yo pa soti al travay nan jaden rezen yo.
19 Menm jan chalè fonn lanèj, lèfini tè sèk bwè dlo a, se konsa moun k'ap fè peche yo ap disparèt ale nan peyi kote mò yo ye a.
20 Tout moun bliye yo. Ata manman ki fè yo pa chonje yo. Se vè k'ap manje kadav yo. Yo fini tankou yon pyebwa yo koupe jete.
21 Tou sa rive konsa, paske li maltrete fanm ki pa ka fè pitit. Li san pitye pou vèv yo.
22 Lè sa a, Bondye detwi gwo chèf yo ak fòs ponyèt li. Li annik parèt, mechan an konnen li mouri.
23 Bondye kite l' viv alèz san pwoblèm, men, se toutan l'ap veye tou sa l'ap fè.
24 Zafè mechan yo mache byen pou yon tan. Men, apre sa, yo fennen tankou zèb savann, tankou tèt ble yo koupe.
25 Si se pa konsa sa ye, ki moun ki ka demanti sa m' di la a? Ki moun ki ka fè wè pawòl mwen yo pa vo anyen?
