Job
Chapter 24
1 Why, if God knows all time, do those who know him not recognize his days?
2 Some people move boundary stones; they forcefully steal herds of animals and eat from them.
3 They chase away the orphan’s donkey and take the widow’s ox as collateral.
4 They push the needy off the road; the world’s poor all hide away.
5 Look, like wild donkeys in the desert, they go out to work; they get up early to find food: the wild land provides food for them and their children.
6 Everyone harvests their grain in the field, and they collect the wicked’s grapes.
7 They make the naked sleep without clothes, so they have no cover when it’s cold.
8 They are soaked by the mountain rains and hug the rocks because they have no shelter.
9 They snatch away the orphans and demand collateral from the poor.
10 They make him go without clothes and take the bundle of grain from the hungry.
11 They make oil inside their cities, press their grapes for wine, and still feel thirsty.
12 People groan in the city, and the hurt souls cry out; but God does not charge them with wrongdoing.
13 They are among those who resist the light; they do not know its ways or stay on its paths.
14 The killer gets up at dawn to kill the poor and needy, and at night he acts like a thief.
15 The one who is unfaithful with their partner waits for night, thinking no one will see them, and covers their face.
16 At night they break into houses they had picked out in the day; they do not know the light.
17 Morning feels like the shadow of death to them; when recognized, they are terrified by this shadow of death.
18 He is fast like the rivers; their land is cursed on the earth: he does not see the path of the vineyards.
19 Dryness and warmth dry up the snow’s water; just as the grave takes those who have sinned.
20 The body will forget him; worms will eat him up; he will not be remembered; and evil will be broken like a tree.
21 He treats the childless woman badly and does not help the widow.
22 He pulls in the strong with his power: he stands up, and nobody can be sure of living.
23 Even if someone feels safe and relaxed, God still watches their actions.
24 They are raised up for a short time, but then they vanish and are brought down; they are removed just like everyone else, and cut off like the tops of the stalks of grain.
25 If this is not true now, who will prove me wrong and show that my words are worthless?