24:1 “Why are ①times not stored up by the Almighty,
And why do those who know Him not see His ②days?
▷ ①I.e., of judgment for the wicked ②I.e., of judgment for the wicked
24:2 People remove landmarks;
They seize and ①devour flocks.
▷ ①Or pasture
24:3 They drive away the donkeys of orphans;
They seize the widow’s ox as a pledge.
24:4 They push the needy aside from the road;
The poor of the land have to hide themselves together.
24:5 Behold, like wild donkeys in the wilderness
They go out scavenging for food in their activity,
As ①bread for their children in the desert.
▷ ①Lit his bread
24:6 They harvest their feed in the field
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
24:7 They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.
24:8 They are wet from the mountain rains,
And they hug the rock for lack of a shelter.
24:9 Others snatch an orphan from the breast,
And they seize it as a pledge against the poor.
24:10 The poor move about naked without clothing,
And they carry sheaves, while going hungry.
24:11 Within the walls they produce oil;
They tread wine presses but go thirsty.
24:12 From the city people groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry for help;
Yet God does not pay attention to the offensiveness.
24:13 “ ①Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to know its ways
Nor stay in its paths.
▷ ①Lit They
24:14 The murderer arises at dawn;
He kills the poor and the needy,
And at night he is like a thief.
24:15 The eye of the adulterer watches for ①twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’
And he ②disguises his face.
▷ ①Lit the twilight ②Or puts a covering on his face
24:16 In the darkness they dig into houses,
They shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light.
24:17 For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness,
For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.
24:18 “They are ①insignificant on the surface of the water;
Their plot of land on the earth is cursed.
They do not turn ②toward the vineyards.
▷ ①Or light; or swift ②Lit to the path of
24:19 Dryness and heat snatch away the snow waters,
As ①Sheol snatches those who have sinned.
▷ ①I.e., the netherworld
24:20 A ①mother will forget him;
The maggot feeds sweetly until he is no longer remembered.
And injustice will be broken like a tree.
▷ ①Lit womb
24:21 He wrongs the ①infertile woman,
And does no good for the widow.
▷ ①Lit infertile who does not bear
24:22 But He drags off the mighty by His power;
He rises, but no one has assurance of life.
24:23 He provides them with security, and they are supported;
And His eyes are on their ways.
24:24 They are exalted a little while, then they are gone;
Moreover, they are brought low, and like everything they are gathered up;
Like the heads of grain they wither.
24:25 Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar,
And make my speech worthless?”