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Job 24

KJV · Chapter 24/42

1Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?

2Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.

3They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

4They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.

5Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.

6They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked.

7They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.

8They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.

9They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.

10They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;

11Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.

12Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.

13They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

14The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.

15The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.

16In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.

17For 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.

18He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

19Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

20The 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.

21He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.

22He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

23Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.

24They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

25And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Job describes several concrete forms of social injustice he observes going unpunished in the world: the removal of property boundaries, the theft of flocks, the exploitation of orphans and widows, and the oppression of poor workers who receive nothing for their labor.

Explanation

This chapter expands on Job's argument from chapter 21, now with even more detailed and specific examples of visible social injustice: landowners robbed, workers exploited, the poor without adequate clothing or shelter. These descriptions reflect real, documented problems of ancient Near Eastern agrarian society, where the exploitation of the most vulnerable by the powerful was a constant reality that the law tried, but did not always manage, to restrain. Application for today: recognizing and specifically naming the visible social injustices around us, even without an immediate solution, is part of an honest faith that does not pretend everything is fine when it is not.

Fun facts

  • The mention of "removing the landmarks" of property (verse 2) refers to stone markers used to demarcate agricultural land in antiquity, whose fraudulent removal was explicitly condemned in the Mosaic law (Deuteronomy 19:14; 27:17).
  • The description of workers who "tread their winepresses" of oil and wine yet "suffer thirst" (verse 11) vividly illustrates the exploitation of agricultural laborers who produce abundance for others while remaining in need themselves — a scene recognizable in any historical context of forced or poorly paid labor.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Job 24:1Job opens the chapter asking why the Almighty does not set fixed times of judgment that those who know Him could recognize and witness.
  2. Job 24:2Job changes subject and starts listing real social injustices of the ancient world: moving boundary markers to steal land, taking the widow’s ox as collateral for debt.
  3. Job 24:3Continuing the image of land theft from the previous verse: they take the orphan’s donkey and seize the widow’s ox as a pledge — concrete examples of exploiting the weak.
  4. Job 24:4The needy are pushed off the road, forced to hide — Job describes a systematic marginalization of the poor.
  5. Job 24:5Job shifts focus to the poor themselves: like wild donkeys in the desert, they go out early hunting for food, surviving on barren land along with their children.
  6. Job 24:6They gather fodder in the field and still have to glean leftovers in their own oppressor’s vineyard — working for the very person who exploits them.
  7. Job 24:7The poor spend the night naked, with no protection from the cold — the physical description of extreme misery continues.
  8. Job 24:8Soaked by mountain rains, with no shelter, they cling to the rocks — an image of total exposure to the elements.
  9. Job 24:9The image of creditors snatching babies from poor mothers’ arms as security for a debt describes a harsh practice, but one documented in ancient pledge-based societies.
  10. Job 24:10Continuing the image of stripped orphans from the previous verse: the poor walk naked and hungry while carrying the sheaves of someone else’s harvest.
  11. Job 24:11They press oil and tread grapes in the winepresses of the rich, yet remain thirsty — the bitter irony of producing abundance without ever enjoying it.
  12. Job 24:12From the city rise the groans of the dying and the cries of the wounded, yet God does not seem to charge anyone for it — the central complaint of Job in this chapter: injustice cries out and no one answers.
  13. Job 24:13Job switches to another kind of person: those who rebel against the light, avoiding its ways — introducing criminals who operate in hiding.
  14. Job 24:14The murderer rises before dawn to kill the poor and needy, and at night acts like a thief — calculated violence, timed to catch victims off guard.
  15. Job 24:15The adulterer also waits for twilight, thinking no one will see him, and covers his face — another kind of crime that depends on darkness to hide.
  16. Job 24:16Thieves dig through houses at night and shut themselves in by day, avoiding light altogether — these criminals live an entirely nocturnal life.
  17. Job 24:17For these men, deep darkness is like morning — what terrifies others is their familiar, comfortable environment.
  18. Job 24:18This verse is debated among scholars: it may be Job quoting what the friends would say about the swift ruin of the wicked, only to challenge that idea right after.
  19. Job 24:19Drought and heat slowly consume the meltwater; so Sheol consumes sinners — a slow, natural death, not the dramatic, immediate punishment the friends describe.
  20. Job 24:20The forgetting is total: not even his own mother remembers him, the worms find him sweet — reinforcing the idea of gradual disappearance, not spectacular punishment.
  21. Job 24:21Job cites yet another kind of oppressor: one who mistreats the barren woman and does no good to the widow — another example of social injustice that seems to get no immediate divine response.
  22. Job 24:22Job returns to his central argument: God actually prolongs the life of the powerful, they recover even when it seemed they would give up on life.
  23. Job 24:23God gives them security and sustains them, even while keeping an eye on their ways — a watchfulness that does not translate into swift punishment.
  24. Job 24:24Job admits that oppressors also eventually die like everyone else, it just is not clear when justice actually happens, if it happens in time at all.
  25. Job 24:25Job closes the chapter with a direct challenge: if it is not so, who can prove he is lying and take apart his arguments?

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