Job 24

1 Why are times not laid up by the Almighty? And why do not they that know him see his days?

2 There are that remove the landmarks; They violently take away flocks, and feed them.

3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless; 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 asses in the desert They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; The wilderness yieldeth them bread for their children.

6 They cut their provender in the field; And they glean the vintage 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 want of a shelter.

9 There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge of the poor;

10  So that they go about naked without clothing, And being hungry they carry the sheaves.

11 They make oil within the walls of these men; They tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.

12 From out of the populous city men groan, And the soul of the wounded crieth out: Yet God regardeth not the folly.

13 These are of them that rebel against the light; They know not the ways thereof, Nor abide in the paths thereof.

14 The murderer riseth with the light; He killeth the poor and needy; And in the night he is as a thief.

15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, Saying, No eye shall see me: And he disguiseth his face.

16 In the dark they dig through houses: They shut themselves up in the day-time; They know not the light.

17 For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness; For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.

18 Swiftly they pass away upon the face of the waters; Their portion is cursed in the earth: They turn not into the way of the vineyards.

19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: So doth Sheol those that have sinned.

20 The womb shall forget him; The worm shall feed sweetly on him; He shall be no more remembered; And unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.

21 He devoureth the barren that beareth not, And doeth not good to the widow.

22 Yet God preserveth the mighty by his power: He riseth up that hath no assurance of life.

23  God giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon; And his eyes are upon their ways.

24 They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone; Yea, 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 And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech nothing worth?

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.