Job
Summary
Job Chapter 24 is a continuation of Job's reply, where he laments that God does not set fixed times for judgement. He lists numerous crimes: such as moving landmarks, stealing flocks, and oppressing the poor: and notes that "God does not charge anyone with wrongdoing" despite these atrocities. Job describes the wicked as those who "rebel against the light," committing their crimes in the dark and fearing the morning. He observes that even though they are eventually "cut off as the tops of the ears of corn," they often live in apparent safety for a time. The chapter concludes with a challenge to any who would call his observations a lie.
"Why does the Almighty not set times for judgement? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?"
"Men move boundary stones; they pasture flocks they have stolen."
"They drive away the orphan’s donkey and take the widow’s ox in pledge."
"They push the needy from the path and force all the poor of the land into hiding."
"Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labour of foraging for food; the wasteland provides food for their children."
"They gather fodder in a field and glean in the vineyards of the wicked."
"Lacking clothing, they spend the night naked; they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold."
"They are drenched by mountain rains and hug the rocks for lack of shelter."
"The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant of the poor is seized for a debt."
"Lacking clothes, they go about naked; they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry."
"They crush olives among the terraces; they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst."
"The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out for help. But God charges no one with wrongdoing."
"There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths."
"When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up and kills the poor and needy; in the night he steals like a thief."
"The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight; he says, 'No eye will see me,' and he keeps his face concealed."
"In the dark, men break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light."
"For all of them, deep darkness is their morning; they make friends with the terrors of darkness."
"He is like scum on the face of the waters; his portion of the land is cursed, so that no one goes to the vineyards."
"As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those who have sinned."
"The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on them; evil men are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree."
"They prey on the barren and childless woman, and show no kindness to the widow."
"But God drags away the mighty by his power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life."
"He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their ways."
"For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain."
"If this is not so, who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?"