Job 24:2-12

2 "Some 1remove the landmarks; They seize and devour flocks.
3 "They drive away the donkeys of the 2orphans; They take the 3widow's ox for a pledge.
4 "They push 4the needy aside from the road; The 5poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.
5 "Behold, as 6wild donkeys in the wilderness They 7go forth seeking food in their activity, As bread for their children in the desert.
6 "They harvest their fodder in the field And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
7 "8They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering against the cold.
8 "They are wet with the mountain rains And hug the rock for want of a shelter.
9 "Others snatch the 9orphan from the breast, And against the poor they take a pledge.
10 "They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing, And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
11 "Within the walls they produce oil; They tread wine presses but thirst.
12 "From the city men groan, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God 10does not pay attention to folly.

Job 24:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 24

This chapter contains the second part of Job's answer to the last discourse of Eliphaz, in which he shows that wicked men, those of the worst characters, prosper in the world, and go through it with impunity; he lays down this as a certain truth, that though no time is hid from God, yet they that are most familiar with him, and know most of him, do not see, and cannot observe, any days of his for judging and punishing wicked men in, this life, Job 24:1; and instances in men guilty of injustice, violence, oppression, cruelty, and inhumanity, to their neighbours, and yet God lays not folly to them, or charges them with sin, and punishes them for it, Job 24:2-12; and in persons that commit the most atrocious crimes in secret, such as murderers, adulterers, and thieves, Job 24:13-17; he allows that there is a curse upon their portion, and that the grave shall consume them, and they shall be remembered no more, Job 24:18-20; and because of their ill treatment of others, though they may be in safety and prosperity, and be exalted for a while, they shall be brought low and cut off by death, but generally speaking are not punished in this life, Job 24:21-24; and concludes with the greatest assurance of being in the right, and having truth on his side, Job 24:25.

Cross References 10

  • 1. Deuteronomy 19:14; Deuteronomy 27:17; Proverbs 23:10
  • 2. Job 6:27
  • 3. Deuteronomy 24:17; Job 22:9
  • 4. Job 24:14; Job 29:16; Job 30:25; Job 31:19
  • 5. Job 29:12; Psalms 41:1; Proverbs 14:31; Proverbs 28:28; Amos 8:4
  • 6. Job 39:5-8
  • 7. Psalms 104:23
  • 8. Exodus 22:26; Job 22:6
  • 9. Job 6:27
  • 10. Job 9:23, 24

Footnotes 4

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