Job 24

¹ Why are not times set by the Almighty, and why do his friends not see his days?

² The wicked remove landmarks; they steal away herds and pasture them.

³ The asses of orphans they drive away; they take the widow's ox for a pledge.

⁴ They force the needy off the road; all the poor of the land are driven into hiding.

⁵ Like wild asses in the desert, these go forth to their task of seeking food; The steppe provides food for the young among them;

⁶ they harvest at night in the untilled land.

⁷ They pass the night naked, without clothing, for they have no covering against the cold;

⁸ They are drenched with the rain of the mountains, and for want of shelter they cling to the rock.

¹⁰ and famished are those who carry the sheaves.

¹¹ Between the rows they press out the oil; they glean in the the vineyard of the wicked. They tread the wine presses, yet suffer thirst,

¹² From the dust the dying groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out (yet God does not treat it as unseemly).

¹³ There are those who are rebels against the light; they know not its ways; they abide not in its paths.

¹⁴ When there is no light the murderer rises, to kill the poor and needy.

¹⁵ The eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight; he says, "No eye will see me." In the night the thief roams about, and he puts a mask over his face;

¹⁶ in the dark he breaks into houses. By day they shut themselves in; none of them know the light,

¹⁷ for daylight they regard as darkness.

¹⁸ Their portion in the land is accursed,

²⁰ and wickedness is splintered like wood.

²² To him who rises without assurance of his life

²³ he gives safety and support. He sustains the mighty by his strength, and his eyes are on their ways.

²⁴ They are exalted for a while, and then they are gone; they are laid low and, like all others, are gathered up; like ears of grain they shrivel.

²⁵ If this be not so, who will confute me, and reduce my argument to nought?