Job 24
1 "Why does the Almighty not set timesS Job 14:5 for judgment?S Job 9:23; 2Pe 3:7Jer 46:10 1 Jer 46:10 1 Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?S Job 15:20Ac 1:7 1 Ac 1:7
2 Men move boundary stones;S Dt 19:1427:17Pr 23:10 2 Dt 19:14; 27:17 2 they pasture flocks they have stolen.Ex 20:15; Dt 28:31
3 They drive away the orphan's donkey 3 and take the widow's ox in pledge.S Job 6:27; S 22:9Dt 24:6,10,12,17; Job 22:6 3 Job 22:6
4 They thrust the needyJob 29:16; 31:19 from the path 4 and force all the poorJob 29:12; 30:25; Ps 12:541:182:3,4; Isa 11:4 of the land into hiding.S Job 20:19; S Pr 28:12Pr 28:28 4 Pr 28:28
5 Like wild donkeysS Ge 16:12 in the desert, 5 the poor go about their laborPs 104:23 of foraging food; 5 Ps 104:23 5 the wastelandJob 30:3 provides food for their children.
6 They gather fodderS Job 6:5 in the fields 6 and glean in the vineyardsver 18 of the wicked.Ru 2:22; S 1Ki 21:19 6 Ru 2:22
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked; 7 they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.S Ex 22:27Job 22:6 7 Ex 22:27; Job 22:6
8 They are drenchedDa 4:25,33 by mountain rains 8 and hugLa 4:5 the rocks for lack of shelter.S Jdg 6:2 8 La 4:5
9 The fatherlessS Dt 24:17 child is snatchedJob 29:17 from the breast; 9 Dt 24:17 9 the infant of the poor is seizedPs 14:4; Pr 30:14; Isa 3:14; 10:1-2; Eze 18:12 for a debt.S Lev 25:47; S 2Ki 4:1
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;Dt 24:12-13 10 they carry the sheaves,S Lev 19:9 but still go hungry. 10 Lev 19:9
11 They crush olives among the terraces[a] Or olives between the millstones; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.; 11 they tread the winepresses,Isa 5:2; 16:10; Hag 2:16 yet suffer thirst.Mic 6:15
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city, 12 and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.S Job 12:19; 30:28; Ps 5:2; 22:24; 39:12; 119:147; Isa 30:19; Jer 50:46; 51:52,54Eze 26:15Rev 6:10 12 Eze 26:15 12 But God charges no one with wrongdoing.S Job 9:23 12 Job 9:23
13 "There are those who rebel against the light,ver 16; Job 38:15Jn 3:19-201Th 5:4-5 13 Jn 3:19-20 13 who do not know its ways 13 or stay in its paths.Job 17:12; 38:20; Ps 18:28Isa 5:20Eph 5:8-14 13 Isa 5:20
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up 14 and killsIsa 3:15; Mic 3:3 the poor and needy;S Job 20:19; Ps 37:32 14 in the night he steals forth like a thief.Ps 10:9 14 Ps 10:9
15 The eye of the adultererJob 31:9,27; Pr 1:10 watches for dusk;Pr 7:8-9 15 Pr 7:8-9 15 he thinks, 'No eye will see me,'Ps 10:11 15 Ps 10:11 15 and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, men break into houses,S Ex 22:2Mt 6:19 16 Ex 22:2 16 but by day they shut themselves in; 16 they want nothing to do with the light.S ver 13Jn 3:20 16 Jn 3:20
17 For all of them, deep darkness is their morning[b] Or them, their morning is like the shadow of death; 17 they make friends with the terrorsS Job 18:11 of darkness.[c] Or of the shadow of deathS Job 15:22; S 18:5
18 "Yet they are foamS Job 9:26Jude 1:13 on the surface of the water;Job 22:16Isa 57:20 18 Job 9:26; 22:16 18 their portion of the land is cursed,S Job 5:3 18 so that no one goes to the vineyards.ver 6
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,Job 6:17 19 Job 6:17 19 so the grave[d] Hebrew SheolS Job 21:13 snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them, 20 the wormS Job 7:5 feasts on them;S Job 21:26 20 evil men are no longer rememberedS Job 18:17Pr 10:7 20 Pr 10:7 20 but are broken like a tree.S Job 14:7Ps 31:12; Da 4:14 20 Ps 31:12
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman, 21 and to the widow show no kindness.S Job 22:9 21 Job 22:9
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;S Job 9:4 22 though they become established,S Job 12:19 they have no assurance of life.Dt 28:66Mt 6:27; Jas 4:14 22 Dt 28:66
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,S Job 9:24; Am 6:1Job 12:6 23 but his eyesS 2Ch 16:9 are on their ways.S Job 10:4Job 11:11 23 Job 12:6
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;S 2Ki 19:35; S Job 4:20Job 14:21Ps 37:1083:13; Isa 5:24; 17:13; 40:24; 41:2,15 24 Ps 37:10 24 they are brought low and gathered up like all others;S Job 3:19 24 they are cut off like heads of grain.Isa 17:5 24 Isa 17:5
25 "If this is not so, who can prove me false 25 and reduce my words to nothing?"S Job 6:28S 16:1727:4 25 Job 6:28; 27:4 Job 25
1 Bildad
1 Then Bildad the ShuhiteS Job 8:1 replied:
2 "Dominion and awe belong to God;S Job 9:4Ps 47:9; 89:18; Zec 9:7Rev 1:6 2 Job 9:4; Rev 1:6 2 he establishes order in the heights of heaven.S 2Ch 20:6; S Job 11:8; S 16:19
3 Can his forces be numbered? 3 Upon whom does his light not rise?Mt 5:45Jas 1:17 3 Jas 1:17
4 How then can a man be righteous before God? 4 How can one born of woman be pure?S Job 4:1714:4 4 Job 4:17
5 If even the moonJob 31:26 is not bright 5 and the stars are not pure in his eyes,S Job 4:18Job 15:15 5 Job 15:15
6 how much less man, who is but a maggot— 6 a son of man,Job 7:17Ps 80:17; 144:3; Eze 2:1 who is only a worm!"S Job 4:19; S 7:5Ps 22:6 6 Ps 22:6 Job 26
1 Job
1 Then Job replied:
2 "How you have helped the powerless!Job 6:12 2 Job 6:12 2 How you have saved the arm that is feeble!S Job 4:3Ps 71:9 2 Ps 71:9
3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom! 3 And what great insightJob 34:35 you have displayed! 3 Job 34:35
4 Who has helped you utter these words? 4 And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?1Ki 22:24
5 "The dead are in deep anguish,Ps 88:10Isa 14:9; 26:14 5 Ps 88:10 5 those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
6 Death[e] Hebrew SheolPs 139:8 is naked before God; 6 Ps 139:8 6 Destruction[f] Hebrew AbaddonS Job 20:26; S Rev 9:11 lies uncovered.Job 10:22; 11:8; 38:1741:11Ps 139:11-12Pr 15:11S Heb 4:13 6 Heb 4:13
7 He spreads out the northern skiesJob 9:8 over empty space; 7 Job 9:8 7 he suspends the earth over nothing.Job 38:6; Ps 104:5; Pr 3:19-20; 8:27; Isa 40:22
8 He wraps up the watersPr 30:4 in his clouds,S Ge 1:2Job 36:2737:11Ps 147:8 8 Pr 30:4 8 yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
9 He covers the face of the full moon, 9 spreading his cloudsS 2Sa 22:10; S Job 22:14Ps 97:2 over it.
10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the watersPr 8:27,29Isa 40:22 10 for a boundary between light and darkness.S Ge 1:4; S Job 28:338:8-11 10 Job 38:8-11
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,S 2Sa 22:8 11 aghast at his rebuke.
12 By his power he churned up the sea;S Ex 14:21Isa 51:15; Jer 31:35 12 Isa 51:15; Jer 31:35 12 by his wisdomJob 12:13 he cut RahabS Job 9:13 to pieces.
13 By his breath the skiesJob 9:8 became fair; 13 his hand pierced the gliding serpent.Isa 27:1 13 Isa 27:1
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works; 14 how faint the whisperJob 4:12 we hear of him!Job 42:5; Hab 3:2; 1Co 13:12 14 Who then can understand the thunder of his power?"S Job 9:6Job 36:29 14 Job 36:29 Job 27
1 And Job continued his discourse:Job 29:1
2 "As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,S Job 6:29; S 9:24; Isa 45:9; 49:4,14Job 34:5 2 Job 34:5 2 the Almighty,Job 23:16 who has made me taste bitterness of soul,S 1Sa 1:10; S Job 7:19; S 10:1Job 9:18 2 Job 9:18
3 as long as I have life within me, 3 the breath of GodS Ge 2:7Job 32:8; 33:434:14; S Ps 144:4 in my nostrils, 3 Job 32:8; 33:4
4 my lips will not speak wickedness, 4 and my tongue will utter no deceit.S Job 6:28S 12:16; S 16:17 4 Job 6:28
5 I will never admit you are in the right; 5 till I die, I will not deny my integrity.S Job 2:9S 10:7; S 32:213:15 5 Job 2:9; 13:15
6 I will maintain my righteousnessJob 29:14; Ps 119:121; 132:9; Isa 59:17; 61:10 and never let go of it; 6 my conscienceS Ac 23:1; Ro 2:15 will not reproach me as long as I live.S Job 2:3S 10:7; S 23:10; S 34:17 6 Job 2:3
7 "May my enemies be like the wicked,S Job 8:22 7 my adversariesJob 31:35 like the unjust!
8 For what hope has the godlessS Job 8:13 when he is cut off, 8 Job 8:13 8 when God takes away his life?S Nu 16:22; S Job 8:22; S 11:20; Lk 12:20 8 Job 11:20; Lk 12:20
9 Does God listen to his cry 9 when distress comes upon him?S Dt 1:45; S 1Sa 8:18; S Job 15:31Job 35:12; Pr 1:28; Isa 1:15; Jer 14:12; Mic 3:4 9 Job 35:12; Pr 1:28; Isa 1:15
10 Will he find delight in the Almighty?S Job 22:26 10 Job 22:26 10 Will he call upon God at all times?
11 "I will teach you about the power of God; 11 the waysJob 36:23 of the Almighty I will not conceal.ver 13 11 Job 36:23
12 You have all seen this yourselves. 12 Why then this meaningless talk?
13 "Here is the fate God allots to the wicked, 13 the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:S Job 15:2016:19; S 20:29 13 Job 20:29
14 However many his children,S Job 5:4 their fate is the sword;Dt 28:41S Job 15:22S La 2:22Hos 9:13 14 Dt 28:41; Hos 9:13 14 his offspring will never have enough to eat.S Job 4:11Job 20:10 14 Job 20:10
15 The plague will bury those who survive him, 15 and their widows will not weep for them.Ps 78:64 15 Ps 78:64
16 Though he heaps up silver like dustS 1Ki 10:27 16 and clothes like piles of clay,Zec 9:3 16 Zec 9:3
17 what he lays upPs 39:6; 49:10; Ecc 2:26 the righteous will wear,S Job 7:8Pr 13:2228:8; Ecc 2:26 17 Pr 28:8; Ecc 2:26 17 and the innocent will divide his silver.Ex 3:22; S Job 3:15
18 The houseS Job 8:22 he builds is like a moth's cocoon,S Job 8:14 18 Job 8:14 18 like a hutIsa 1:824:20 made by a watchman. 18 Isa 1:8
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;S Job 3:13; S 7:8 19 Job 7:8 19 when he opens his eyes, all is gone.S Job 14:20
20 TerrorsS Job 6:4 overtake him like a flood;S Job 15:21 20 Job 15:21 20 a tempest snatches him away in the night.S Job 20:8 20 Job 20:8
21 The east windJob 38:24; Jer 13:24; 22:22 carries him off, and he is gone;Job 30:22 21 it sweeps him out of his place.S Job 7:1021:18 21 Job 7:10
22 It hurls itself against him without mercyJer 13:14; Eze 5:1124:14 22 Jer 13:14; Eze 5:11 22 as he flees headlong2Ki 7:15 from its power.S Job 11:20
23 It claps its handsS Nu 24:10; Na 3:19 in derision 23 and hisses him out of his place.S Job 7:10Job 18:18 23 Job 18:18
