Job 24:9-19

9 "Others snatch the 1orphan 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 2does not pay attention to folly.
13 "Others have been with those who rebel against the light; They do not want to know its ways Nor abide in its paths.
14 "The murderer 3arises at dawn; He 4kills the poor and the needy, And at night he is as a thief.
15 "The eye of the 5adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, 'No eye will see me.' And he disguises his face.
16 "In the dark they 6dig into houses, They 7shut themselves up by day; They do not know the light.
17 "For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness, For he is familiar with the 8terrors of thick darkness.
18 "They are 9insignificant on the surface of the water; Their portion is 10cursed on the earth. They do not turn toward the 11vineyards.
19 "Drought and heat 12consume the snow waters, So does 13Sheol those who have sinned.

Job 24:9-19 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 13

Footnotes 7

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