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24 Why are not times treasured up with the Almighty? why do not they that know him see his days?

They remove the landmarks; they violently take away the flocks and pasture them;

They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge;

They turn the needy out of the way: the afflicted of the land all hide themselves.

Lo, [as] wild asses in the desert, they go forth to their work, seeking early for the prey: the wilderness [yieldeth] them food for [their] children.

They reap in the field the fodder thereof, and they gather the vintage of the wicked;

They pass the night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold;

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

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

10 These go naked without clothing, and, hungry, they bear the sheaf;

11 They press out oil within their walls, they tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.

12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out; and +God imputeth not the impiety.

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

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

15 And the eye of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me; and he putteth a covering on [his] face.

16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in; they know not the light:

17 For the morning is to them all [as] the shadow of death; for they are familiar with the terrors of the shadow of death.

18 He is swift on the face of the waters; their portion is cursed on the earth: he turneth not unto the way of the vineyards.

19 Drought and heat consume snow waters; so doth Sheol those that have sinned.

20 The womb forgetteth him; the worm feedeth sweetly on him: he shall be no more remembered; and unrighteousness is broken as a tree,—

21 He that despoileth the barren that beareth not, and doeth not good to the widow:

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

23 [God] setteth him in safety, and he resteth thereon; but his eyes are upon their ways.

24 They are exalted for a little, and are no more; they are laid low; like all [other] are they gathered, and are cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

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

24 “Why does the Almighty not set times(A) for judgment?(B)
    Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?(C)
There are those who move boundary stones;(D)
    they pasture flocks they have stolen.(E)
They drive away the orphan’s donkey
    and take the widow’s ox in pledge.(F)
They thrust the needy(G) from the path
    and force all the poor(H) of the land into hiding.(I)
Like wild donkeys(J) in the desert,
    the poor go about their labor(K) of foraging food;
    the wasteland(L) provides food for their children.
They gather fodder(M) in the fields
    and glean in the vineyards(N) of the wicked.(O)
Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
    they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.(P)
They are drenched(Q) by mountain rains
    and hug(R) the rocks for lack of shelter.(S)
The fatherless(T) child is snatched(U) from the breast;
    the infant of the poor is seized(V) for a debt.(W)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;(X)
    they carry the sheaves,(Y) but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[a];
    they tread the winepresses,(Z) yet suffer thirst.(AA)
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
    and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.(AB)
    But God charges no one with wrongdoing.(AC)

13 “There are those who rebel against the light,(AD)
    who do not know its ways
    or stay in its paths.(AE)
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
    kills(AF) the poor and needy,(AG)
    and in the night steals forth like a thief.(AH)
15 The eye of the adulterer(AI) watches for dusk;(AJ)
    he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’(AK)
    and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,(AL)
    but by day they shut themselves in;
    they want nothing to do with the light.(AM)
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
    they make friends with the terrors(AN) of darkness.(AO)

18 “Yet they are foam(AP) on the surface of the water;(AQ)
    their portion of the land is cursed,(AR)
    so that no one goes to the vineyards.(AS)
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,(AT)
    so the grave(AU) snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
    the worm(AV) feasts on them;(AW)
the wicked are no longer remembered(AX)
    but are broken like a tree.(AY)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
    and to the widow they show no kindness.(AZ)
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;(BA)
    though they become established,(BB) they have no assurance of life.(BC)
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,(BD)
    but his eyes(BE) are on their ways.(BF)
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;(BG)
    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;(BH)
    they are cut off like heads of grain.(BI)

25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
    and reduce my words to nothing?”(BJ)

Footnotes

  1. Job 24:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.