Job 24

Job Complains of Violence on the Earth

1  Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, Why do those who know Him see not His days?2  Some remove landmarks; They seize flocks violently and feed on them; 3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; They take the widows ox as a pledge.4 They push the needy off the road; All the 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 spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering in the cold.8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, And 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 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 The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief.15 The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, No eye will see me; And he disguises his face.16 In the dark they break into houses Which they marked for themselves in the daytime; 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 consume the snow waters, So the grave consumes those who have sinned.20 The womb should forget him, The worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be remembered no more, And wickedness should be broken like a tree.21 For he 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 His eyes are on their ways.24 They are exalted for a little while, Then they are gone. They are brought low; They are 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?

JOB 24

Job Continues

Why Doesn't God Set a Time?

1 Why doesn't God
set a time for court?
Why don't his people know
where he can be found?

2 Sinners remove boundary markers
and take care of sheep
they have stolen.

3 They cheat orphans and widows
by taking their donkeys
and oxen.

4 The poor are trampled
and forced to hide

5 in the desert,
where they and their children
must live like wild donkeys
and search for food.

6 If they want grain or grapes, t
they must go to the property
of these sinners.

7 They sleep naked in the cold,
because they have no cover,

8 and during a storm
their only shelters are caves
among the rocky cliffs.

9 Children whose fathers have died
are taken from their mothers
as payment for a debt.

10 Then they are forced to work
naked in the grain fields
because they have no clothes,
and they go hungry.

11 They crush olives to make oil
and grapes to make wine—
but still they go thirsty.

12 And along the city streets,
the wounded and dying cry out,
yet God does nothing.

Some Reject the Light

13 Some rebel and refuse
to follow the light.

14 Soon after sunset they murder
the poor and the needy,
and at night they steal.

15 Others wait for the dark,
thinking they won't be seen
if they sleep with the wife
or husband of someone else.

16 Robbers hide during the day,
then break in after dark
because they reject the light.

17 They prefer night to day,
since the terrors of the night
are their friends.

Sinners Are Filthy Foam

18 Those sinners are filthy foam
on the surface of the water.
And so, their fields and vineyards
will fall under a curse
and won't produce.

19 Just as the heat of summer
swallows the snow,
the world of the dead
swallows those who sin.

20 Forgotten here on earth,
and with their power broken,
they taste sweet to worms.

21 Sinners take advantage of widows
and other helpless women.t

22 But God's mighty strength
destroys those in power.
Even if they seem successful,
they are doomed to fail.

23 God may let them feel secure,
but they are never
out of his sight.

24 Great for a while; gone forever!
Sinners are mowed down
like weeds,
then they wither and die.

25 If I haven't spoken the truth,
then prove me wrong.