American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Job 24
1
Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?
Reference
3
They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
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Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 24:6
5
Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
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Parallel theme
Psalm 104:23
6
They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked.
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Parallel theme
Micah 6:15
7
They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.
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Parallel theme
Job 22:6
8
They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
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Parallel theme
Lamentations 4:5
9
They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.
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Parallel theme
Nehemiah 5:5
10
They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;
12
Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded cries out: yet God lays not folly to them.
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Parallel theme
Ecclesiastes 4:1
13
They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
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14
The murderer rising with the light kills the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
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15
The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguises his face.
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Parallel theme
Psalm 10:11
16
In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.
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Light
John 3:20
17
For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
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Parallel theme
Job 3:5
18
He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholds not the way of the vineyards.
20
The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.
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21
He evil entreats the barren that bears not: and does not good to the widow.
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Parallel theme
Job 29:13
22
He draws also the mighty with his power: he rises up, and no man is sure of life.
23
Though it be given him to be in safety, where on he rests; yet his eyes are on their ways.
Reference
Summary of Job 24
Job Chapter 24 continues Job's challenge to the simplistic explanations offered by his friends, focusing especially on the suffering of the poor and the apparent freedom of people who commit injustice. He asks why God does not always establish visible times of judgment, because in his experience powerful people can steal land, exploit widows and orphans, abuse workers, and take advantage of the helpless while apparently escaping immediate punishment.
Job describes a society in which the vulnerable carry the greatest burdens: the poor search for food on land they do not own, workers labor in fields and olive groves without enjoying the fruits of their work, families lack adequate clothing and shelter, and desperate people can even lose children because of debt and poverty. The imagery reflects the realities of an ancient agricultural economy where land, livestock, harvests, clothing, family protection, and household ownership determined much of a person's security.
He then turns to people who deliberately choose wrongdoing, including murderers, thieves, and adulterers, emphasizing that they prefer darkness because darkness hides their actions. Their behavior is not accidental; they understand that what they are doing is wrong and therefore deliberately seek secrecy.
Yet Job's deepest concern is not simply that evil exists.
His concern is that God does not always appear to respond immediately.
He hears the cries of the oppressed and sees people suffering, but he cannot understand why divine judgment does not always arrive when injustice is taking place. This continues the argument from the previous chapter: present circumstances do not always reveal God's final judgment.
Job also acknowledges that the wicked eventually decline and disappear. Their prosperity is temporary, their power cannot protect them forever, and their lives eventually end like everyone else's. But this does not answer his central question because the wicked may enjoy years of success before that end comes, while innocent people may suffer throughout their lives.
The chapter therefore challenges the idea that suffering is always an immediate punishment for wrongdoing.
Job's central point is that observable life does not follow the simple moral formula his friends have been defending. Some people commit terrible injustices and still experience security and prosperity for significant periods, while others suffer despite having done nothing to deserve such treatment.
The historical background makes the argument especially powerful because ancient society depended heavily on land ownership, family protection, agricultural labor, livestock, and social status. Losing land, clothing, food, or family support could mean losing the ability to survive, and those without strong family protection were particularly vulnerable to exploitation.
Job's argument is ultimately not a denial of divine justice but a rejection of human certainty about when and how that justice must appear. He observes the world as it actually exists and finds that justice is often delayed, hidden, or difficult to understand.
The chapter ends with Job confidently asking who can prove his observations wrong. He has not solved the mystery of suffering, but he has demonstrated that his friends' simple explanation cannot account for everything happening in the world.
Job describes a society in which the vulnerable carry the greatest burdens: the poor search for food on land they do not own, workers labor in fields and olive groves without enjoying the fruits of their work, families lack adequate clothing and shelter, and desperate people can even lose children because of debt and poverty. The imagery reflects the realities of an ancient agricultural economy where land, livestock, harvests, clothing, family protection, and household ownership determined much of a person's security.
He then turns to people who deliberately choose wrongdoing, including murderers, thieves, and adulterers, emphasizing that they prefer darkness because darkness hides their actions. Their behavior is not accidental; they understand that what they are doing is wrong and therefore deliberately seek secrecy.
Yet Job's deepest concern is not simply that evil exists.
His concern is that God does not always appear to respond immediately.
He hears the cries of the oppressed and sees people suffering, but he cannot understand why divine judgment does not always arrive when injustice is taking place. This continues the argument from the previous chapter: present circumstances do not always reveal God's final judgment.
Job also acknowledges that the wicked eventually decline and disappear. Their prosperity is temporary, their power cannot protect them forever, and their lives eventually end like everyone else's. But this does not answer his central question because the wicked may enjoy years of success before that end comes, while innocent people may suffer throughout their lives.
The chapter therefore challenges the idea that suffering is always an immediate punishment for wrongdoing.
Job's central point is that observable life does not follow the simple moral formula his friends have been defending. Some people commit terrible injustices and still experience security and prosperity for significant periods, while others suffer despite having done nothing to deserve such treatment.
The historical background makes the argument especially powerful because ancient society depended heavily on land ownership, family protection, agricultural labor, livestock, and social status. Losing land, clothing, food, or family support could mean losing the ability to survive, and those without strong family protection were particularly vulnerable to exploitation.
Job's argument is ultimately not a denial of divine justice but a rejection of human certainty about when and how that justice must appear. He observes the world as it actually exists and finds that justice is often delayed, hidden, or difficult to understand.
The chapter ends with Job confidently asking who can prove his observations wrong. He has not solved the mystery of suffering, but he has demonstrated that his friends' simple explanation cannot account for everything happening in the world.