24:1 “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?
24:2 Men move boundary stones; they pasture flocks they have stolen.
24:3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
24:4 They thrust the needy from the path and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
24:5 Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labor of foraging food; the wasteland provides food for their children.
24:6 They gather fodder in the fields and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
24:7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked; they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
24:8 They are drenched by mountain rains and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.
24:9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.
24:10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked; they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
24:11 They crush olives among the terraces; they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
24:12 The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out for help. But God charges no one with wrongdoing.
24:13 “There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths.
24:14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up and kills the poor and needy; in the night he steals forth like a thief.
24:15 The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’ and he keeps his face concealed.
24:16 In the dark, men break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light.
24:17 For all of them, deep darkness is their morning; they make friends with the terrors of darkness.
24:18 “Yet they are foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one goes to the vineyards.
24:19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.
24:20 The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on them; evil men are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree.
24:21 They prey on the barren and childless woman, and to the widow show no kindness.
24:22 But God drags away the mighty by his power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
24:23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their ways.
24:24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain.
24:25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false and reduce my words to nothing?”
24:1 Why are times of judgment not stored up by the Almighty? / And why do those who know Him not see His days?
24:2 Some remove landmarks; / They seize the flock and pasture them.
24:3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless / And take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
24:4 They turn the needy out of the way; / The poor of the land are made to hide together.
24:5 Indeed, like wild asses in the desert, / They go forth to their work, / Diligently seeking some prey; / The wilderness provides them food for their children.
24:6 In the field they harvest their fodder, / And they glean the vintage of the wicked.
24:7 They spend the night naked, without clothing; / And have no covering in the cold.
24:8 They are wet from the mountain showers, / And for lack of shelter they embrace the rock.
24:9 Some pluck the fatherless from the breast, / And what the poor has on, as a pledge.
24:10 They go about naked, without clothing; / And being hungry, they take up the sheaves.
24:11 Between their walls they press out oil; / They tread the winepresses yet suffer thirst.
24:12 From the city men groan, / And the soul of the wounded cries out; / Yet God does not regard the folly.
24:13 These are among those who rebel against the light; / They are not acquainted with its ways, / Nor do they abide in its paths.
24:14 The murderer rises at dawn; / He kills the poor and the needy; / And at night he is like a thief.
24:15 The eye of the adulterer also watches for the twilight, / Saying, Not an eye will see me; / And he disguises his face.
24:16 They dig through houses in the dark; / By day they shut themselves in: / They do not know the light.
24:17 For morning is to all of them like the shadow of death, / Because they are acquainted with the terrors of the shadow of death.
24:18 Swift are they upon the face of the waters; / Their portion is cursed in the earth; / There is none who turns toward the vineyards.
24:19 Drought and heat snatch the snow water, / As Sheol snatches those who have sinned.
24:20 The womb forgets him; / The worm finds him sweet; / He is remembered no more; / And wrongdoing is broken like a tree.
24:21 He despoils the barren woman who does not bear, / And does no good for the widow.
24:22 But God preserves the mighty by His power; / He arises, and no one is certain of life.
24:23 He grants a man to be secure, and he rests on it; / And His eyes are upon their ways.
24:24 They are exalted a little while, then they are no more; / And they are brought low; like all others, they are gathered in / And are cut off like the tops of the ears of grain.
24:25 And if it is not so, then who will prove me a liar / And bring my words to nought?