Job 24

CHAPTER 24

Who Can Prove Me a Liar?

¹“^aWhy are ¹times not stored up by the Almighty,

And why do those who know Him not behold ^bHis days?

²“¹Some ^amove the boundaries;

They seize and ²devour flocks.

³“They drive away the donkeys of the ^aorphans;

They take the ^bwidow’s ox for a pledge.

⁴“They push ^athe needy aside from the road;

The ^bafflicted of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.

⁵“Behold, as ^awild donkeys in the wilderness

They ^bgo forth seeking food earnestly in their work,

The desert becomes ¹for him a place of bread for his young ones.

⁶“They harvest their fodder in the field

And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

⁷“^aThey spend the night naked, without clothing,

And have no covering against the cold.

⁸“They are wet with the mountain rains

And hug the rock for want of a shelter.

⁹“¹Others snatch the ^aorphan from the breast,

And against the afflicted they take a pledge.

¹⁰“Those poor ones walk about naked without clothing,

And hungry ones carry the sheaves.

¹¹“Within the walls they produce oil;

They tread wine presses but thirst.

¹²“From the city men groan,

And the souls of the wounded cry out;

Yet God ^adoes not pay attention to such offense.

¹³“¹Others have been with those who rebel against the light;

They do not want to recognize its ways

Nor abide in its paths.

¹⁴“The murderer ^aarises at dawn;

He ^bkills the afflicted and the needy,

And at night he is as a thief.

¹⁵“The eye of the ^aadulterer keeps watch for the twilight,

Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’

And he ¹keeps his face hidden.

¹⁶“In the dark they ^adig into houses;

They ^bshut themselves up by day;

They do not know the light.

¹⁷“For the morning is the same to him as the shadow of death,

For he recognizes the ^aterrors of the shadow of death.

¹⁸“¹They are ^2ainsignificant on the surface of the water;

Their portion is ^bcursed on the earth.

They do not turn ³toward the ^cvineyards.

¹⁹“Drought and heat ^aseize the snow waters,

So does ^bSheol those who have sinned.

²⁰“A ^1amother will forget him;

The ^bworm feasts sweetly till he is ^cno longer remembered.

And unrighteousness will be broken ^dlike a tree.

²¹“He feeds on the barren woman who does not give birth

And does no good for ^athe widow.

²²“But He drags off the mighty by ^aHis power;

He rises, but ^bno one believes in his life.

²³“He provides them ^awith security, and they are supported;

And His ^beyes are on their ways.

²⁴“They are exalted a ^alittle while, then they are gone;

Moreover, they are ^bbrought low and like everything gathered up;

Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

²⁵“Now if it is not so, ^awho can prove me a liar,

And make my speech worthless?”