Job 24 (Brenton)

1But why have the seasons been hidden from the Lord,“Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?

2while the ungodly have passed over the bound, carrying off the flock with the shepherd?Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.

3They have led away the ass of the fatherless, and taken the widow's ox for a pledge.They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.

4They have turned aside the weak from the right way: and the meek of the earth have hidden themselves together.They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.

5And they have departed like asses in the field, having gone forth on my account according to their own order: his bread is sweet to his little ones.Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children.

6They have reaped a field that was not their own before the time: the poor have laboured in the vineyards of the ungodly without pay and without food.They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.

7They have caused many naked to sleep without clothes, and they have taken away the covering of their body.Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.

8They are wet with the drops of the mountains: they have embraced the rock, because they had no shelter.Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.

9They have snatched the fatherless from the breast, and have afflicted the outcast.The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.

10And they have wrongfully caused others to sleep without clothing, and taken away the morsel of the hungry.Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.

11They have unrighteously laid wait in narrow places, and have not known the righteous way.They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.

12Who have cast forth the poor from the city and their own houses, and the soul of the children has groaned aloud.From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.

13Why then has he not visited these? forasmuch as they were upon the earth, and took no notice, and they knew not the way of righteousness, neither have they walked in their appointed paths?Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.

14But having known their works, he delivered them into darkness: and in the night one will be as a thief:When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.

15and the eye of the adulterer has watched for the darkness, saying, Eye shall not perceive me, and he puts a covering on his face.The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.

16In darkness he digs through houses: by day they conceal themselves securely: they know not the light.In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.

17For the morning is to them all as the shadow of death, for each will be conscious of the terror of the shadow of death.For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!

18He is swift on the face of the water: let his portion be cursed on the earth; and let their plants be laid bare.They are but foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one turns toward their vineyards.

19Let them be withered upon the earth; for they have plundered the sheaves of the fatherless.As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned.

20Then is his sin brought to remembrance, and he vanishes like a vapour of dew: but let what he has done be recompensed to him, and let every unrighteous one be crushed like rotten wood.The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is broken like a tree.

21For he has not treated the barren woman well, and has had no pity on a feeble woman.They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.

22And in wrath he has overthrown the helpless: therefore when he has arisen, a man will not feel secure of his own life.Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.

23When he has fallen sick, let him not hope to recover: but let him perish by disease.He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.

24For his exaltation has hurt many; but he has withered as mallows in the heat, or as an ear of corn falling off of itself from the stalk.They are exalted for a moment, then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain.

25But if not, who is he that says I speak falsely, and will make my words of no account?If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”

Job 24

Job: Judgment for the Wicked