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24 “Since times of judgment are not kept by the Almighty,
    why do they who know Him not see His days?
Some remove the landmarks;
    they violently take away flocks and feed on them.
They drive away the donkey of the orphan;
    they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
They turn away the needy;
    the poor of the earth are forced to hide.
Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert,
    they go out to their work, rising early for a prey.
    The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
They gather their fodder in the field,
    and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
They cause the naked to lodge without clothing,
    and they have no covering in the cold.
They are wet with the showers of the mountains
    and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
They snatch the fatherless from the breast
    and take a pledge from the poor.
10 They cause him to go naked without clothing,
    and they take away the sheaf from the hungry.
11 They press out oil within their walls
    and tread their winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 Men groan from outside the city,
    and the soul of the wounded cries out;
    yet God does not charge them with wrong.

13 “They are those who rebel against the light;
    they do not know its ways
    nor abide in its paths.
14 The murderer, rising with the light, kills the poor and needy,
    and in the night he is like a thief.
15 Also the eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
    saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
    and he disguises his face.
16 In the dark they break into houses,
    which they had marked for themselves in the daytime;
    they do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death;
    if someone recognizes them,
    they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

18 “He is swift as the waters.
    Their portion is cursed in the earth.
    They do not turn toward the way of the vineyards.
19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters;
    so the grave consumes those who have sinned.
20 The womb will forget him;
    the worm will feed sweetly on him;
he will be remembered no more,
    and wickedness will be broken like a tree.
21 He preys on the barren who do not bear,
    and does no good for the widow.
22 But God draws the mighty away with His power;
    He rises up, and no man is sure of life.
23 He gives them security, and they rely on it;
    yet His eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little while but are gone and brought low;
    they are taken out of the way like all others
    and cut off as the tops of the grain.

25 “If it is not so, who will prove me a liar
    and make my speech worth nothing?”

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.