Job 24: Job speaks of the poor and of the wicked
A free study, verse by verse. Text: World English Bible. Notes come from the Hebrew. How to read a study
What happens?
Job asks why times are not laid up by the Almighty and why those who know him do not see his days. He then describes people who move boundaries, seize flocks and take what belongs to the fatherless, the widow and the poor, and describes the poor going hungry, cold and bare. He speaks of those who rebel against the light, the murderer, the adulterer and the one who is like a thief, says what becomes of them, and ends by asking who will prove him a liar.
Who is speaking?
God does not speak in this chapter, so nothing is in gold. Job keeps speaking: this chapter has no line from the narrator and no new speaker. In verse 15 Job quotes the adulterer, who says "No eye will see me." No one else is quoted. God's own words are printed in gold, and those verses are marked God speaks
1“Why aren’t times laid up by the Almighty? Why don’t those who know him see his days?
In plain English: Why are times not laid up (or: stored up) by the Almighty? Why do those who know him not see his days?
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2There are people who remove the landmarks. They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
In plain English: There are people who remove the landmarks (the Hebrew says: boundaries: see the note). They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
The Hebrew word: "Remove" is nasag, which the dictionary gives as "to reach (literally or figuratively)". It is in 47 verses of the Bible, and the WEB says "remove" in 1 of them, this one, and "overtake" in 19. Word by word the Hebrew reads "boundaries people reach".
What changes: With the WEB these people move the boundary marks. With "reach" the line says only that they reach the boundaries, and the text does not say what they do there.
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3They drive away the donkey of the fatherless, and they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
In plain English: They drive away the donkey of the fatherless, and they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
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4They turn the needy out of the way. The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
In plain English: They turn the needy out of the way. The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
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5Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert, they go out to their work, seeking diligently for food. The wilderness yields them bread for their children.
In plain English: Look, like wild donkeys in the desert, they go out to their work, seeking food diligently. The wilderness (the Hebrew says: the desert plain) gives them bread for their children.
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6They cut their food in the field. They glean the vineyard of the wicked.
In plain English: They cut their food (the Hebrew word means feed for cattle) in the field. They glean the vineyard of the wicked.
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7They lie all night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.
In plain English: They spend the night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.
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8They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for lack of a shelter.
In plain English: They are wet with the rain of the mountains, and for lack of a shelter they embrace the rock.
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9There are those who pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor,
In plain English: There are those who tear the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge from the poor.
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10so that they go around naked without clothing. Being hungry, they carry the sheaves.
In plain English: They go about naked, without clothing. Hungry, they carry the sheaves.
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11They make oil within the walls of these men. They tread wine presses, and suffer thirst.
In plain English: Within the walls (or: between the rows) of these men they press out oil. They tread wine presses, and are thirsty.
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12From out of the populous city, men groan. The soul of the wounded cries out, yet God doesn’t regard the folly.
In plain English: From the city (the WEB says: the populous city) men groan. The soul of the fatally wounded cries for help, yet God does not regard the folly (see the note).
The Hebrew word: "Folly" is tiphlah, which the dictionary gives as "frivolity". It is in 3 verses of the Bible: , and this one. The Hebrew says "God does not put tiphlah". The WEB says "folly" in 2 of the 3 verses and in says "charge God with wrongdoing".
What changes: The WEB reads that God does not regard the folly. Word by word the Hebrew reads that God does not set (or: put) it. The text does not say which is meant.
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13“These are of those who rebel against the light. They don’t know its ways, nor stay in its paths.
In plain English: These are among those who rebel against the light. They do not know its ways, and they do not stay in its paths.
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14The murderer rises with the light. He kills the poor and needy. In the night he is like a thief.
In plain English: The murderer rises with the light. He kills the poor and the needy. In the night he is like a thief.
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15The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me.’ He disguises his face.
In plain English: The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, "No eye will see me." He puts a covering on his face.
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16In the dark they dig through houses. They shut themselves up in the daytime. They don’t know the light.
In plain English: In the dark they dig through houses. In the daytime they shut themselves up. They do not know the light.
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17For the morning is to all of them like thick darkness, for they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
In plain English: For the morning is to all of them like thick darkness, for they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
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18“They are foam on the surface of the waters. Their portion is cursed on the earth. They don’t turn into the way of the vineyards.
In plain English: They are light (or: swift) on the surface of the waters (the WEB says: foam). Their portion is cursed in the land. No one turns toward the way of the vineyards.
The Hebrew words: The Hebrew of verses 18 to 24 is hard. Verse 18 begins "light (or: swift) is he on the face of the waters", with "he" and not "they". "Foam" is the WEB's word. The Hebrew word at the start of the verse is given by the dictionary as "light; (by implication) rapid". It is in 13 verses of the Bible, and the WEB says "swift" in 8 of them, "light" in 1 and "foam" in 1, this one.
What changes: With "swift" or "light" the line says the person is quick or light on the waters. With "foam" the person is like foam. The text does not say which is meant.
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19Drought and heat consume the snow waters, so does Sheol those who have sinned.
In plain English: Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters, and Sheol those who have sinned (the Hebrew is short: it says only "Sheol, those who have sinned").
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20The womb will forget him. The worm will feed sweetly on him. He will be no more remembered. Unrighteousness will be broken as a tree.
In plain English: The womb forgets him. The worm (or: maggot) feeds sweetly on him. He is remembered no more. Injustice is broken like a tree.
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21He devours the barren who don’t bear. He shows no kindness to the widow.
In plain English: He feeds on the barren woman who does not bear, and he shows no kindness to the widow.
The Hebrew word: "Devours" is raah, which the dictionary gives as "to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it". It is in 3 verses of Job: , and this one. The WEB says "feeding" or "feed" in 2 of them and "devours" in 1, this one.
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22Yet God preserves the mighty by his power. He rises up who has no assurance of life.
In plain English: He drags off (or: draws off) the mighty by his power. He rises up, and no one trusts in life (see the note on who "he" is).
The Hebrew words: The Hebrew has no name in this verse and the next: "and he drags off mighty ones by his power". The WEB writes "God" in verses 22 and 23. "Drags off" is mashak, which the dictionary gives as "to draw, used in a great variety of applications (including to sow, to sound, to prolong, to develop, to march, to remove, to delay, to be tall, etc.)". It is in 36 verses of the Bible, and the WEB says "preserves" in 1 of them, this one.
What changes: With the WEB, God keeps the mighty alive by his power. The same "he" can also be the one in verse 21 who feeds on the barren and shows no kindness to the widow, who then draws off the mighty. The text does not say which.
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23God gives them security, and they rest in it. His eyes are on their ways.
In plain English: He gives them security, and they rest on it. His eyes are on their ways.
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24They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone. Yes, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others, and are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.
In plain English: They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone. They are brought low, they are taken out of the way (the Hebrew says: like everyone they are drawn together, or: shut up), and they are cut off (or: they wither) like the tops of the ears of grain.
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25If it isn’t so now, who will prove me a liar, and make my speech worth nothing?”
In plain English: If it is not so now, who will prove me a liar and make my speech worth nothing?
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