24 “Why are (A)not times of judgment (B)kept by the Almighty,
    and why do those who know him never see his (C)days?
Some move (D)landmarks;
    they seize flocks and pasture them.
They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
    they (E)take the widow's ox for a pledge.
They (F)thrust the poor off the road;
    the poor of the earth (G)all hide themselves.
Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert
    the poor[a] (H)go out to their toil, (I)seeking game;
    the wasteland yields food for their children.
They gather their[b] fodder in the field,
    and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.
They (J)lie all night naked, without clothing,
    and have no covering in the cold.
They are wet with the rain of the mountains
    and (K)cling to the rock for lack of shelter.
(There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast,
    and they take a pledge against the poor.)
10 They go about naked, without clothing;
    hungry, they (L)carry the sheaves;
11 among the olive rows of the wicked[c] they make oil;
    they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst.
12 From out of the city the dying[d] groan,
    and the soul of (M)the wounded cries for help;
    yet God charges no one with (N)wrong.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 24:5 Hebrew they
  2. Job 24:6 Hebrew his
  3. Job 24:11 Hebrew their olive rows
  4. Job 24:12 Or the men

Job Describes Social Injustice

24 Why doesn’t the Almighty reserve time for judgment?
    And why don’t those who know him perceive his days?
They move boundary stones,[a]
    steal flocks, and pasture them.[b]
They drive away the orphan’s donkey;
    they take the ox of the widow as security for a loan;[c]
They push the needy off the road,
    and force the poor of the land into hiding.

“Look! Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,
    they work diligently as they seek wild game in the desert,
        food for them and their young ones.
They reap fodder in the field
    and glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
They spend the night naked, without clothing,
    with no covering against the cold.
They are wet from mountain rains;
    without shelter, they cling to a rock.

“The fatherless are torn from the breast;
    the poor are taken away as security for a loan.[d]
10 They wander around naked, without clothes;
    hungry, though they carry sheaves of grain.[e]
11 They press oil between the olive groves owned by the wicked;
    they suffer from thirst, even while treading the winepress.
12 From the city, dying men groan aloud,
    and the wounded cries out for help,
        but God charges no one with wrong.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 24:2 Or borders
  2. Job 24:2 The Heb. lacks them
  3. Job 24:3 The Heb. lacks for a loan
  4. Job 24:9 The Heb. lacks for a loan
  5. Job 24:10 The Heb. lacks grain