Job 24

¹The times are not hidden from the Almighty; even those who know him, do not know his days.

²Some have crossed the boundaries, plundered the flocks, and given them pasture.

³They have driven away the donkey of orphans, and have taken the cow from the widow as collateral.

⁴They have undermined the way of the poor, and have pressed together the meek of the earth.

⁵Others, like wild asses in the desert, go forth to their work; by watching for prey, they obtain bread for their children.

⁶They reap a field that is not their own, and they harvest a vineyard that they have taken by force.

⁷They send men away naked, having taken the clothing of those who have no covering in the cold;

⁸these are wet with the mountain rain, and, having no covering, they embrace the rocks.

⁹They have used violence to deprive orphans, and they have robbed the poor common people.

¹⁰From the naked and those who do not have enough clothing, and from the hungry, they have taken away sheaves of grain.

¹¹They take their midday rest among the stockpiles of those who, though they have trodden the winepresses, suffer thirst.

¹²In the cities, they caused the men to groan and the spirit of the wounded to cry out, and so God does not allow this to go unpunished.

¹³They have been rebellious against the light; they have not known his ways, nor have they returned by his paths.

¹⁴The killer of men rises at first light; he executes the destitute and the poor, but, in truth, he is like a thief in the night.

¹⁵The eye of the adulterer waits for darkness, saying, “No eye will see me,” and he covers his face.

¹⁶He passes through houses in the nighttime, just as they had agreed among themselves in the daytime; and they are ignorant of the light.

¹⁷If sunrise should suddenly appear, it is treated by them like the shadow of death; and they walk in darkness, as if in light.

¹⁸He is nimble on the surface of water. His place on land is to be accursed. May he not walk by way of the vineyards.

¹⁹May he cross from the snowy waters to excessive heat, and his sin, all the way to hell.

²⁰Let mercy forget him. His charm is worms. Let him not be remembered, but instead be broken like an unfruitful tree.

²¹For he has fed on the barren, who does not bear fruit, and he has not done good to the widow.

²²He has pulled down the strong by his strength, and, when he stands up, he will not have trust in his life.

²³God has given him a place for repentance, and he abuses it with arrogance, but his eyes are upon his ways.

²⁴They are lifted up for a little while, but they will not continue, and they will be brought low, just like all things, and they will be taken away, and, like the tops of the ears of grain, they will be crushed.

²⁵But, if this is not so, who is able to prove to me that I have lied and to place my words before God?

Job 24

¹Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?

²Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.

³They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

⁴They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.

⁵Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.

⁶They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked.

⁷They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.

⁸They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.

⁹They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.

¹⁰They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;

¹¹Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.

¹²Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.

¹³They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

¹⁴The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.

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

¹⁶In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.

¹⁷For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

¹⁸He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

¹⁹Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

²⁰The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.

²¹He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.

²²He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

²³Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.

²⁴They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

²⁵And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?