Job 24
24
Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs
1“Why does the Almighty not set seasons for judgment?
Why do those who know Him not see His days [for punishment of the wicked]?
2Some remove the landmarks;
They [violently] seize and pasture flocks [appropriating land and flocks openly].
3They drive away the donkeys of the orphans;
They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
4They crowd the needy off the road;
The poor of the land all hide themselves.
5Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert,
The poor go to their work, diligently seeking food;
As bread for their children in the desert.
6They harvest their fodder in a field [that is not their own],
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
7They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.
8They are wet from the rain of the mountains
And cling to the rock for lack of shelter.
9Others snatch the fatherless [infants] from the breast [to sell or make them slaves],
And against the poor they take a pledge [of clothing].
10They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,
And they take away the sheaves [of grain] from the hungry.
11Within the walls [of the wicked] the poor make [olive] oil;
They tread [the grapes in] the wine presses, but thirst.
12From the [populous and crowded] city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out for help;
Yet God [seemingly] does not pay attention to the wrong [done to them].
13“Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to know its ways
Nor stay in its paths.
14The murderer rises at dawn;
He kills the poor and the needy,
And at night he becomes a thief.
15The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me,’
And he covers his face.
16In the dark they dig into [the penetrable walls of] houses;
They shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light [of day].
17For the morning is the same to him as the thick darkness [of midnight];
For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.
18“They are insignificant on the surface of the water;
Their portion is cursed on the earth;
They do not turn toward the vineyards.
19Drought and heat consume the snow waters;
So does Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) [consume] those who have sinned.
20A mother will forget him;
The worm feeds on him until he is no longer remembered.
And wickedness will be broken like a tree [which cannot be restored].
21He preys on the barren (childless) woman
And does no good for the widow.
22Yet God draws away the mighty by His power;
He rises, but no one has assurance of life.
23God gives them security, and they are supported;
And His eyes are on their ways.
24They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone;
Moreover, they are brought low and like everything [they are] gathered up and taken out of the way;
Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.
25And if this is not so, who can prove me a liar
And make my speech worthless?”
Currently Selected:
Job 24: AMP
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Amplified® Bible
Copyright © 2015 by
The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
All rights reserved. http://www.lockman.org
Job 24
24
Job Continues
Why Doesn't God Set a Time?
1Why doesn't God
set a time for court?
Why don't his people know
where he can be found?
2Sinners remove boundary markers
and take care of sheep
they have stolen.
3They cheat orphans and widows
by taking their donkeys
and oxen.
4The poor are trampled
and forced to hide
5in the desert,
where they and their children
must live like wild donkeys
and search for food.
6If they want grain or grapes,#24.6 If they want grain or grapes: Poor people were allowed to gather what was left in the fields and vineyards after the harvest.
they must go to the property
of these sinners.
7They sleep naked in the cold,
because they have no cover,
8and during a storm
their only shelters are caves
among the rocky cliffs.
9Children whose fathers have died
are taken from their mothers
as payment for a debt.
10Then they are forced to work
naked in the grain fields
because they have no clothes,
and they go hungry.
11They crush olives to make oil
and grapes to make wine—
but still they go thirsty.
12And along the city streets,
the wounded and dying cry out,
yet God does nothing.
Some Reject the Light
13Some rebel and refuse
to follow the light.
14Soon after sunset they murder
the poor and the needy,
and at night they steal.
15Others wait for the dark,
thinking they won't be seen
if they sleep with the wife
or husband of someone else.
16Robbers hide during the day,
then break in after dark
because they reject the light.
17They prefer night to day,
since the terrors of the night
are their friends.
Sinners Are Filthy Foam
18Those 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.
19Just as the heat of summer
swallows the snow,
the world of the dead
swallows those who sin.
20Forgotten here on earth,
and with their power broken,
they taste sweet to worms.
21Sinners take advantage of widows
and other helpless women.#24.21 women: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 21.
22But God's mighty strength
destroys those in power.
Even if they seem successful,
they are doomed to fail.
23God may let them feel secure,
but they are never
out of his sight.
24Great for a while; gone forever!
Sinners are mowed down
like weeds,
then they wither and die.
25If I haven't spoken the truth,
then prove me wrong.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.