Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs
24 “Why does the Almighty not set seasons for judgment?
Why do those who know Him not see His days [for punishment of the wicked]?(A)
2
“Some remove the landmarks;
They [violently] seize and pasture flocks [appropriating land and flocks openly].
3
“They drive away the donkeys of the orphans;
They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
4
“They crowd the needy off the road;
The poor of the land all hide themselves.
5
“Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert,
The poor go to their work, diligently seeking food;
As bread for their children in the desert.
6
“They harvest their fodder in a field [that is not their own],
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
7
“They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.
8
“They are wet from the rain of the mountains
And cling to the rock for lack of shelter.
9
“Others snatch the fatherless [infants] from the breast [to sell or make them slaves],
And against the poor they take a pledge [of clothing].
10
“They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,
And they take away the sheaves [of grain] from the hungry.
11
“Within the walls [of the wicked] the poor make [olive] oil;
They tread [the grapes in] the wine presses, but thirst.
12
“From the [populous and crowded] city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out for help;
Yet God [seemingly] does not pay attention to the wrong [done to them].
13
“Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to know its ways
Nor stay in its paths.
14
“The murderer rises at dawn;
He kills the poor and the needy,
And at night he becomes a thief.
15
“The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me,’
And he covers his face.
16
“In the dark they dig into [the penetrable walls of] houses;
They shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light [of day].
17
“For the morning is the same to him as the thick darkness [of midnight];
For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.
18
“They are insignificant on the surface of the water;
Their portion is cursed on the earth;
They do not turn toward the vineyards.
19
“Drought and heat consume the snow waters;
So does Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) [consume] those who have sinned.
20
“A mother will forget him;
The worm feeds on him until he is no longer remembered.
And wickedness will be broken like a tree [which cannot be restored].(B)
21
“He preys on the barren (childless) woman
And does no good for the widow.
22
“Yet God draws away the mighty by His power;
He rises, but no one has assurance of life.
23
“God gives them security, and they are supported;
And His eyes are on their ways.
24
“They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone;
Moreover, they are brought low and like everything [they are] gathered up and taken out of the way;
Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.
25
“And if this is not so, who can prove me a liar
And make my speech worthless?”