Hiob 24 | New International Version

1 ‘Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days? 2 There are those who move boundary stones; they pasture flocks they have stolen. 3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey and take the widow’s ox in pledge. 4 They thrust the needy from the path and force all the poor of the land into hiding. 5 Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labour of foraging food; the wasteland provides food for their children. 6 They gather fodder in the fields and glean in the vineyards of the wicked. 7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked; they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold. 8 They are drenched by mountain rains and hug the rocks for lack of shelter. 9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant of the poor is seized for a debt. 10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked; they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry. 11 They crush olives among the terraces*; they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst. 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. 13 ‘There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths. 14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up, kills the poor and needy, and in the night steals forth like a thief. 15 The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, “No eye will see me,” and he keeps his face concealed. 16 In the dark, thieves break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light. 17 For all of them, midnight is their morning; they make friends with the terrors of darkness. 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. 19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those who have sinned. 20 The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on them; the wicked are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree. 21 They prey on the barren and childless woman, and to the widow they show no kindness. 22 But God drags away the mighty by his power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life. 23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their ways. 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 ears of corn. 25 ‘If this is not so, who can prove me false and reduce my words to nothing?’

English Standard Version

1 “Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty, and why do those who know him never see his days? 2 Some move landmarks; they seize flocks and pasture them. 3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; they take the widow’s ox for a pledge. 4 They thrust the poor off the road; the poor of the earth all hide themselves. 5 Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert the poor* go out to their toil, seeking game; the wasteland yields food for their children. 6 They gather their* fodder in the field, and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man. 7 They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold. 8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains and cling to the rock for lack of shelter. 9 (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast, and they take a pledge against the poor.) 10 They go about naked, without clothing; hungry, they carry the sheaves; 11 among the olive rows of the wicked* they make oil; they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst. 12 From out of the city the dying* groan, and the soul of the wounded cries for help; yet God charges no one with wrong. 13 “There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths. 14 The murderer rises before it is light, that he may kill the poor and needy, and in the night he is like a thief. 15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; and he veils his face. 16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light. 17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness. 18 “You say, ‘Swift are they on the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the land; no treader turns toward their vineyards. 19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters; so does Sheol those who have sinned. 20 The womb forgets them; the worm finds them sweet; they are no longer remembered, so wickedness is broken like a tree.’ 21 “They wrong the barren, childless woman, and do no good to the widow. 22 Yet God* prolongs the life of the mighty by his power; they rise up when they despair of life. 23 He gives them security, and they are supported, and his eyes are upon their ways. 24 They are exalted a little while, and then are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like the heads of grain. 25 If it is not so, who will prove me a liar and show that there is nothing in what I say?”

Hiob 24 | New International Version English Standard Version