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?”
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Job 24
24
1“Why doesn't the Almighty set a definite time to punish the wicked?#24:1. “Wicked” implied. Why do those who follow him never see him act in judgment? 2The wicked move boundary stones;#24:2. Thus stealing land. they seize other people's flocks and move them to their own pastures. 3They steal the orphan's donkey; they take the widow's ox as security for a debt. 4They push the poor out of their way; the destitute are forced to hide from them. 5Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor have to scavenge for their food, looking for anything to feed their children in the wasteland. 6They are forced to find what they can in other people's fields, to glean among the vineyards of the wicked. 7They spend the night naked because they have no clothes; they have nothing to cover themselves against the cold. 8They are soaked by the cold mountain storms, and huddle beside the rocks for shelter. 9Fatherless children are snatched from their mother's breasts, taking the babies of the poor as security for a debt. 10Because they have no clothes to wear they have to go naked, harvesting sheaves of grain while they themselves are hungry. 11In the olive groves they work to produce oil, but do not taste it; they tread the winepress, but are thirsty. 12In the city the dying groan, and the wounded cry for help, but God ignores their prayers.#24:12. Or “But God does not charge anyone with wrongdoing.”
13These are people who rebel against the light. They do not want to know its ways, or to stay on its paths. 14The murderer gets up at dawn to kill the poor and needy, and when night falls he becomes a thief. 15The adulterer waits for dusk, saying to himself, ‘No one will see me now,’ and he covers his face. 16Thieves break into houses during the night and they sleep during the day. They don't even know what the light is like! 17Total darkness is like light to them, for they are familiar with the night.
18Like bubbles#24:18. Implied. on the surface of a river they are quickly carried away. The land they own is cursed by God. They don't enter their own vineyards. 19Just as heat and drought dry up snowmelt, so Sheol takes away those who have sinned. 20Even their mothers forget them, maggots feast on them, they are no longer remembered, and their wickedness becomes like a tree that is broken into pieces. 21They mistreat childless women and are mean to widows. 22God prolongs the life of the wicked by his power; but when they arise, they have no assurance of life.#24:22. Alternatively: “God drags off the mighty through his power. God rises up and they despair of life.” 23He supports them and gives them security, but he is always watching what they're doing. 24Though they may be illustrious for a while, soon they are gone. They are brought down like all others, cut off like the heads of grain. 25If this isn't so, who can prove I'm a liar and there's nothing to what I say?”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com