Job 24
1 “(Why does Almighty [God] not set a time when he will judge [evil people]?/I do not understand why Almighty [God does] not set a time when he will judge [evil people].) [RHQ] Those who know him never [RHQ] see him do that!
Why doesn't the Almighty set a definite time to punish the wicked? Why don't those who follow him never see him act in judgment?
2 [Some evil people] remove the markers of boundaries of [other people’s] land, [in order to steal their land]; they seize/steal [other people’s] sheep and put them in their own pastures.
The wicked move boundary stones; they seize other people's flocks and move them to their own pastures.
3 [Some] (take away/steal) the donkeys that belong to orphans, and they take widow’s oxen to guarantee that the widows will pay back the money that they loaned to those widows.
They steal the orphan's donkey; they take the widow's ox as security for a debt.
4 [Some] shove poor people off the road (OR, prevent poor people from (obtaining their rights/being treated justly)), and they force poor people to find places to hide from them.
They push the poor out of their way; the destitute are forced to hide from them.
5 The result is that poor people have to search for food in the desert like wild donkeys do.
Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor have to scavenge for their food, looking for anything to feed their children in the wasteland.
6 The poor people harvest left-over grain in other people’s fields, and gather grapes from vineyards that belong to wicked men.
They are forced to find what they can in other people's fields, to glean among the vineyards of the wicked.
7 During the night they have nothing to cover their bodies, nothing to keep them warm.
They spend the night naked because they have no clothes; they have nothing to cover themselves against the cold.
8 When it rains on the mountains, the poor people become very wet, so they huddle under the rock ledges to be protected [from the rain].
They are soaked by the cold mountain storms, and huddle beside the rocks for shelter.
9 [Some evil men] snatch infants away from their widowed mothers [SYN], and they say ‘I will return your babies to you when you repay the money that I lent to you.’
Fatherless children are snatched from their mother's breasts, taking the babies of the poor as security for a debt.
10 But the poor people walk around with no clothes on; they are hungry while they are working to carry [other people’s] bundles of grain [to the places where their grain will be threshed].
Because they have no clothes to wear they have to go naked, harvesting sheaves of grain while they themselves are hungry.
11 Poor people press olives to make [olive] oil; they tread on grapes [to make juice for wine], but [they are not allowed to drink any of it when] they become thirsty.
In the olive groves they work to produce oil, but do not taste it; they tread the winepress, but are thirsty.
12 In the cities, people who are wounded and dying cry out [to God for help], but God does not heed their prayers.
In the city the dying groan, and the wounded cry for help, but God ignores their prayers.
13 Some wicked people avoid the light [because they do evil things in the dark]; they do not walk on roads that are lighted.
These are people who rebel against the light. They do not want to know its ways, or to stay on its paths.
14 Murderers steal things during the night, and then they arise before dawn in order that they may [go out again and] kill needy [DOU] people.
The murderer gets up at dawn to kill the poor and needy, and when night falls he becomes a thief.
15 Those who want to commit adultery wait for twilight/evening; they say ‘I do not want anyone to see me,’ so they keep their faces covered.
The adulterer waits for dusk, saying to himself, ‘No one will see me now,’ and he covers his face.
16 It is during the night that robbers break into houses [to steal things], but during the day they hide because they want to avoid [being seen in] the light.
Thieves break into houses during the night and they sleep during the day. They don't even know what the light is like!
17 All of those [people] want to do their evil things at night, not in the morning [when it is light], because they are not afraid of [the things that happen during the] night that terrify others.”
Total darkness is like light to them, for they are familiar with the night.
18 “[But it is wicked people] who are swept/carried away by floods, and God curses the land that they own, and no one goes to work in their vineyards.
Like bubbles on the surface of a river they are quickly carried away. The land they own is cursed by God. They don't enter their own vineyards.
19 Just like the snow melts away when it is hot and there is no rain, those who have sinned disappear into the place where dead people are. (Sheol h7585)
Just as heat and drought dry up snowmelt, so Sheol takes away those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
20 Not even their mothers remember them now; wicked people are destroyed like trees that are cut down, and maggots eat their corpses.
Even their mothers forget them, maggots feast on them, they are no longer remembered, and their wickedness becomes like a tree that is broken into pieces.
21 They mistreat women who have been unable to give birth to children and women who no longer have children [to take care of them], and they never do good things for widows.
They mistreat childless women and are mean to widows.
22 But God, by his power, gets rid of mighty/influential people. God acts and causes the wicked people to die.
God prolongs the life of the wicked by his power; but when they arise, they have no assurance of life.
23 God allows them to think that they are secure and safe, but he is watching [MTY] them all the time.
He supports them and gives them security, but he is always watching what they're doing.
24 They prosper for a little while, and then [suddenly] they are gone; they disappear like weeds wither and die; they are like [SIM] stalks of grain that have been cut off.
Though they may be illustrious for a while, soon they are gone. They are brought down like all others, cut off like the heads of grain.
25 If this is not true, is there [RHQ] anyone who will show that I am a liar and prove that what I have said is not true?”
If this isn't so, who can prove I'm a liar and there's nothing to what I say?”
