< Job 24 >

1 Why are times not laid up by the Almighty? And why do not they that know Him see His days?
[Ab Omnipotente non sunt abscondita tempora: qui autem noverunt eum, ignorant dies illius.
2 There are that remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed them.
Alii terminos transtulerunt; diripuerunt greges, et paverunt eos.
3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
Asinum pupillorum abegerunt, et abstulerunt pro pignore bovem viduæ.
4 They turn the needy out of the way; the poor of the earth hide themselves together.
Subverterunt pauperum viam, et oppresserunt pariter mansuetos terræ.
5 Behold, as wild asses in the wilderness they go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; the desert yieldeth them bread for their children.
Alii quasi onagri in deserto egrediuntur ad opus suum: vigilantes ad prædam, præparant panem liberis.
6 They cut his provender in the field; and they despoil the vineyard of the wicked.
Agrum non suum demetunt, et vineam ejus, quem vi oppresserint, vindemiant.
7 They lie all night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.
Nudos dimittunt homines, indumenta tollentes, quibus non est operimentum in frigore:
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
quos imbres montium rigant, et non habentes velamen, amplexantur lapides.
9 There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor;
Vim fecerunt deprædantes pupillos, et vulgum pauperem spoliaverunt.
10 So that they go about naked without clothing, and being hungry they carry the sheaves;
Nudis et incedentibus absque vestitu, et esurientibus tulerunt spicas.
11 They make oil within the rows of these men; they tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
Inter acervos eorum meridiati sunt, qui calcatis torcularibus sitiunt.
12 From out of the populous city men groan, and the soul of the wounded crieth out; yet God imputeth it not for unseemliness.
De civitatibus fecerunt viros gemere, et anima vulneratorum clamavit: et Deus inultum abire non patitur.
13 These are of them that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
Ipsi fuerunt rebelles lumini: nescierunt vias ejus, nec reversi sunt per semitas ejus.
14 The murderer riseth with the light, to kill the poor and needy; and in the night he is as a thief.
Mane primo consurgit homicida; interficit egenum et pauperem: per noctem vero erit quasi fur.
15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying: 'No eye shall see me'; and he putteth a covering on his face.
Oculus adulteri observat caliginem, dicens: Non me videbit oculus: et operiet vultum suum.
16 In the dark they dig through houses; they shut themselves up in the day-time; they know not the light.
Perfodit in tenebris domos, sicut in die condixerant sibi, et ignoraverunt lucem.
17 For the shadow of death is to all of them as the morning; for they know the terrors of the shadow of death.
Si subito apparuerit aurora, arbitrantur umbram mortis: et sic in tenebris quasi in luce ambulant.
18 He is swift upon the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth; he turneth not by the way of the vineyards.
Levis est super faciem aquæ: maledicta sit pars ejus in terra, nec ambulet per viam vinearum.
19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters; so doth the nether-world those that have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
Ad nimium calorem transeat ab aquis nivium, et usque ad inferos peccatum illius. (Sheol h7585)
20 The womb forgetteth him; the worm feedeth sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and unrighteousness is broken as a tree.
Obliviscatur ejus misericordia; dulcedo illius vermes: non sit in recordatione, sed conteratur quasi lignum infructuosum.
21 He devoureth the barren that beareth not; and doeth not good to the widow.
Pavit enim sterilem quæ non parit, et viduæ bene non fecit.
22 He draweth away the mighty also by his power; he riseth up, and he trusteth not his own life.
Detraxit fortes in fortitudine sua, et cum steterit, non credet vitæ suæ.
23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth, yet His eyes are upon their ways.
Dedit ei Deus locum pœnitentiæ, et ille abutitur eo in superbiam: oculi autem ejus sunt in viis illius.
24 They are exalted for a little while, and they are gone; yea, they are brought low, they are gathered in as all others, and wither as the tops of the ears of corn.
Elevati sunt ad modicum, et non subsistent: et humiliabuntur sicut omnia, et auferentur, et sicut summitates spicarum conterentur.
25 And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?
Quod si non est ita, quis me potest arguere esse mentitum, et ponere ante Deum verba mea?]

< Job 24 >