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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)
The wicked[b] remove landmarks;
    they seize flocks and pasture them.(B)
They drive away the donkey of the orphan;
    they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.(C)
They thrust the needy off the road;
    the poor of the earth all hide themselves.(D)
Like wild asses in the desert
    they go out to their toil,
scavenging in the wasteland
    food for their young.(E)
They reap in a field not their own,
    and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
They lie all night naked, without clothing,
    and have no covering in the cold.(F)
They are wet with the rain of the mountains
    and cling to the rock for want of shelter.(G)

“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)

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Footnotes

  1. 24.1 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  2. 24.2 Gk: Heb they
  3. 24.11 Meaning of Heb uncertain

Job Asks Why the Wicked Are Not Punished

24 “Why doesn’t the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment?
    Why must the godly wait for him in vain?
Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers.
    They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures.
They take the orphan’s donkey
    and demand the widow’s ox as security for a loan.
The poor are pushed off the path;
    the needy must hide together for safety.
Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,
    the poor must spend all their time looking for food,
    searching even in the desert for food for their children.
They harvest a field they do not own,
    and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
All night they lie naked in the cold,
    without clothing or covering.
They are soaked by mountain showers,
    and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home.

“The wicked snatch a widow’s child from her breast,
    taking the baby as security for a loan.
10 The poor must go about naked, without any clothing.
    They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving.
11 They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it,
    and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
    and the wounded cry for help,
    yet God ignores their moaning.

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