Worthy.Bible » Parallel » Job » Chapter 24

Job 24:1-25 King James Version (KJV)

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

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

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

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

5 Behold, 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

24 They 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.

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


Job 24:1-25 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 Why, seeing times H6256 are not hidden H6845 from the Almighty, H7706 do they that know H3045 him not see H2372 his days? H3117

2 Some remove H5381 the landmarks; H1367 they violently take away H1497 flocks, H5739 and feed H7462 thereof.

3 They drive away H5090 the ass H2543 of the fatherless, H3490 they take H2254 the widow's H490 ox H7794 for a pledge. H2254

4 They turn H5186 the needy H34 out of the way: H1870 the poor H6041 H6035 of the earth H776 hide H2244 themselves together. H3162

5 Behold, as wild asses H6501 in the desert, H4057 go they forth H3318 to their work; H6467 rising betimes H7836 for a prey: H2964 the wilderness H6160 yieldeth food H3899 for them and for their children. H5288

6 They reap H7114 H7114 every one his corn H1098 in the field: H7704 and they gather H3953 the vintage H3754 of the wicked. H7563

7 They cause the naked H6174 to lodge H3885 without clothing, H3830 that they have no covering H3682 in the cold. H7135

8 They are wet H7372 with the showers H2230 of the mountains, H2022 and embrace H2263 the rock H6697 for want of a shelter. H4268

9 They pluck H1497 the fatherless H3490 from the breast, H7699 and take a pledge H2254 of the poor. H6041

10 They cause him to go H1980 naked H6174 without clothing, H3830 and they take away H5375 the sheaf H6016 from the hungry; H7457

11 Which make oil H6671 within H996 their walls, H7791 and tread H1869 their winepresses, H3342 and suffer thirst. H6770

12 Men H4962 groan H5008 from out of the city, H5892 and the soul H5315 of the wounded H2491 crieth out: H7768 yet God H433 layeth H7760 not folly H8604 to them.

13 They are of those that rebel H4775 against the light; H216 they know H5234 not the ways H1870 thereof, nor abide H3427 in the paths H5410 thereof.

14 The murderer H7523 rising H6965 with the light H216 killeth H6991 the poor H6041 and needy, H34 and in the night H3915 is as a thief. H1590

15 The eye H5869 also of the adulterer H5003 waiteth H8104 for the twilight, H5399 saying, H559 No eye H5869 shall see H7789 me: and disguiseth H5643 H7760 his face. H6440

16 In the dark H2822 they dig through H2864 houses, H1004 which they had marked H2856 for themselves in the daytime: H3119 they know H3045 not the light. H216

17 For the morning H1242 is to them even as H3162 the shadow of death: H6757 if one know H5234 them, they are in the terrors H1091 of the shadow of death. H6757

18 He is swift H7031 as the waters; H6440 H4325 their portion H2513 is cursed H7043 in the earth: H776 he beholdeth H6437 not the way H1870 of the vineyards. H3754

19 Drought H6723 and heat H2527 consume H1497 the snow H7950 waters: H4325 so doth the grave H7585 those which have sinned. H2398

20 The womb H7358 shall forget H7911 him; the worm H7415 shall feed sweetly H4988 on him; he shall be no more remembered; H2142 and wickedness H5766 shall be broken H7665 as a tree. H6086

21 He evil entreateth H7462 the barren H6135 that beareth H3205 not: and doeth not good H3190 to the widow. H490

22 He draweth H4900 also the mighty H47 with his power: H3581 he riseth up, H6965 and no man is sure H539 of life. H2416

23 Though it be given H5414 him to be in safety, H983 whereon he resteth; H8172 yet his eyes H5869 are upon their ways. H1870

24 They are exalted H7426 for a little while, H4592 but are gone and brought low; H4355 they are taken out H7092 of the way H1870 as all other, and cut off H5243 as the tops H7218 of the ears of corn. H7641

25 And if it be not so now, H645 who will make H7760 me a liar, H3576 and make H7760 my speech H4405 nothing worth? H408


Job 24:1-25 American Standard (ASV)

1 Why are times not laid up by the Almighty? And why do not they that know him see his days?

2 There are that remove the landmarks; They violently take away flocks, and feed them.

3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless; They take the widow's ox for a pledge.

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

5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; The wilderness `yieldeth' them bread for their children.

6 They cut their provender in the field; And they glean the vintage of the wicked.

7 They lie all night naked without clothing, And have no covering in the cold.

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

9 There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge of the poor;

10 `So that' they go about naked without clothing, And being hungry they carry the sheaves.

11 They make oil within the walls of these men; They tread `their' winepresses, and suffer thirst.

12 From out of the populous city men groan, And the soul of the wounded crieth out: Yet God regardeth not the folly.

13 These are of them that rebel against the light; They know not the ways thereof, Nor abide in the paths thereof.

14 The murderer riseth with the light; He killeth the poor and needy; And in the night he is as a thief.

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

16 In the dark they dig through houses: They shut themselves up in the day-time; They know not the light.

17 For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness; For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.

18 Swiftly they `pass away' upon the face of the waters; Their portion is cursed in the earth: They turn not into the way of the vineyards.

19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: `So doth' Sheol `those that' have sinned.

20 The womb shall forget him; The worm shall feed sweetly on him; He shall be no more remembered; And unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.

21 He devoureth the barren that beareth not, And doeth not good to the widow.

22 Yet `God' preserveth the mighty by his power: He riseth up that hath no assurance of life.

23 `God' giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon; And his eyes are upon their ways.

24 They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone; Yea, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others, And are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.

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


Job 24:1-25 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 Wherefore from the Mighty One Times have not been hidden, And those knowing Him have not seen His days.

2 The borders they reach, A drove they have taken violently away, Yea, they do evil.

3 The ass of the fatherless they lead away, They take in pledge the ox of the widow,

4 They turn aside the needy from the way, Together have hid the poor of the earth.

5 Lo, wild asses in a wilderness, They have gone out about their work, Seeking early for prey, A mixture for himself -- food for young ones.

6 In a field his provender they reap, And the vineyard of the wicked they glean.

7 The naked they cause to lodge Without clothing. And there is no covering in the cold.

8 From the inundation of hills they are wet, And without a refuge -- have embraced a rock.

9 They take violently away From the breast the orphan, And on the poor they lay a pledge.

10 Naked, they have gone without clothing, And hungry -- have taken away a sheaf.

11 Between their walls they make oil, Wine-presses they have trodden, and thirst.

12 Because of enmity men do groan, And the soul of pierced ones doth cry, And God doth not give praise.

13 They have been among rebellious ones of light, They have not discerned His ways, Nor abode in His paths.

14 At the light doth the murderer rise, He doth slay the poor and needy, And in the night he is as a thief.

15 And the eye of an adulterer Hath observed the twilight, Saying, `No eye doth behold me.' And he putteth the face in secret.

16 He hath dug in the darkness -- houses; By day they shut themselves up, They have not known light.

17 When together, morning `is' to them death shade, When he discerneth the terrors of death shade.

18 Light he `is' on the face of the waters, Vilified is their portion in the earth, He turneth not the way of vineyards.

19 Drought -- also heat -- consume snow-waters, Sheol `those who' have sinned.

20 Forget him doth the womb, Sweeten `on' him doth the worm, No more is he remembered, And broken as a tree is wickedness.

21 Treating evil the barren `who' beareth not, And `to' the widow he doth no good,

22 And hath drawn the mighty by his power, He riseth, and none believeth in life.

23 He giveth to him confidence, and he is supported, And his eyes `are' on their ways.

24 High they were `for' a little, and they are not, And they have been brought low. As all `others' they are shut up, And as the head of an ear of corn cut off.

25 And if not now, who doth prove me a liar, And doth make of nothing my word?


Job 24:1-25 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 Why are not times treasured up with the Almighty? why do not they that know him see his days?

2 They remove the landmarks; they violently take away the flocks and pasture them;

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

4 They turn the needy out of the way: the afflicted of the land all hide themselves.

5 Lo, [as] wild asses in the desert, they go forth to their work, seeking early for the prey: the wilderness [yieldeth] them food for [their] children.

6 They reap in the field the fodder thereof, and they gather the vintage of the wicked;

7 They pass the night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold;

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

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

10 These go naked without clothing, and, hungry, they bear the sheaf;

11 They press out oil within their walls, they tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.

12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out; and +God imputeth not the impiety.

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

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

15 And the eye of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me; and he putteth a covering on [his] face.

16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in; they know not the light:

17 For the morning is to them all [as] the shadow of death; for they are familiar with the terrors of the shadow of death.

18 He is swift on the face of the waters; their portion is cursed on the earth: he turneth not unto the way of the vineyards.

19 Drought and heat consume snow waters; so doth Sheol those that have sinned.

20 The womb forgetteth him; the worm feedeth sweetly on him: he shall be no more remembered; and unrighteousness is broken as a tree, --

21 He that despoileth the barren that beareth not, and doeth not good to the widow:

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

23 [God] setteth him in safety, and he resteth thereon; but his eyes are upon their ways.

24 They are exalted for a little, and are no more; they are laid low; like all [other] are they gathered, and are cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

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


Job 24:1-25 World English Bible (WEB)

1 "Why aren't times laid up by the Almighty? Why don't those who know him see his days?

2 There are people who remove the landmarks. They violently take away flocks, and feed them.

3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless, And they take the widow's ox for a pledge.

4 They turn the needy out of the way. The poor of the earth all hide themselves.

5 Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert, They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; The wilderness yields them bread for their children.

6 They cut their provender in the field. They glean the vineyard of the wicked.

7 They lie all night naked without clothing, And have no covering in the cold.

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

9 There are those who pluck the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge of the poor,

10 So that they go around naked without clothing. Being hungry, they carry the sheaves.

11 They make oil within the walls of these men. They tread wine presses, and suffer thirst.

12 From out of the populous city, men groan. The soul of the wounded cries out, Yet God doesn't regard the folly.

13 "These are of those who rebel against the light; They don't know the ways of it, Nor abide in the paths of it.

14 The murderer rises with the light. He kills the poor and needy. In the night he is like a thief.

15 The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, 'No eye shall see me.' He disguises his face.

16 In the dark they dig through houses. They shut themselves up in the daytime. They don't know the light.

17 For the morning is to all of them like thick darkness, For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.

18 "They are foam on the surface of the waters. Their portion is cursed in the earth: They don't turn into the way of the vineyards.

19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters; So does Sheol those who have sinned.

20 The womb shall forget him. The worm shall feed sweetly on him. He shall be no more remembered. Unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.

21 He devours the barren who don't bear. He shows no kindness to the widow.

22 Yet God preserves the mighty by his power. He rises up who has no assurance of life.

23 God gives them security, and they rest in it. His eyes are on their ways.

24 They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone. Yes, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others, And are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.

25 If it isn't so now, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech worth nothing?"


Job 24:1-25 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Why are times not stored up by the Ruler of all, and why do those who have knowledge of him not see his days?

2 The landmarks are changed by evil men, they violently take away flocks, together with their keepers.

3 They send away the ass of him who has no father, they take the widow's ox for debt.

4 The crushed are turned out of the way; all the poor of the earth go into a secret place together.

5 Like asses in the waste land they go out to their work, looking for food with care; from the waste land they get bread for their children.

6 They get mixed grain from the field, and they take away the late fruit from the vines of those who have wealth.

7 They take their rest at night without clothing, and have no cover in the cold.

8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains, and get into the cracks of the rock for cover.

9 The child without a father is forced from its mother's breast, and they take the young children of the poor for debt.

10 Others go about without clothing, and though they have no food, they get in the grain from the fields.

11 Between the lines of olive-trees they make oil; though they have no drink, they are crushing out the grapes.

12 From the town come sounds of pain from those who are near death, and the soul of the wounded is crying out for help; but God does not take note of their prayer.

13 Then there are those who are haters of the light, who have no knowledge of its ways, and do not go in them.

14 He who is purposing death gets up before day, so that he may put to death the poor and those in need.

15 And the man whose desire is for the wife of another is waiting for the evening, saying, No eye will see me; and he puts a cover on his face. And in the night the thief goes about;

16 In the dark he makes holes in the walls of houses: in the daytime they are shutting themselves up, they have no knowledge of the light.

17 For the middle of the night is as morning to them, they are not troubled by the fear of the dark.

18 They go quickly on the face of the waters; their heritage is cursed in the earth; the steps of the crusher of grapes are not turned to their vine-garden.

19 Snow waters become dry with the heat: so do sinners go down into the underworld.

20 The public place of his town has no more knowledge of him, and his name has gone from the memory of men: he is rooted up like a dead tree.

21 He is not kind to the widow, and he has no pity for her child.

22 But God by his power gives long life to the strong; he gets up again, though he has no hope of life.

23 He takes away his fear of danger and gives him support; and his eyes are on his ways.

24 For a short time they are lifted up; then they are gone; they are made low, they are pulled off like fruit, and like the heads of grain they are cut off.

25 And if it is not so, now, who will make it clear that my words are false, and that what I say is of no value?

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Job 24


Chapter 24

Job having by his complaints in the foregoing chapter given vent to his passion, and thereby gained some ease, breaks them off abruptly, and now applies himself to a further discussion of the doctrinal controversy between him and his friends concerning the prosperity of wicked people. That many live at ease who yet are ungodly and profane, and despise all the exercises of devotion, he had shown, ch. 21. Now here he goes further, and shows that many who are mischievous to mankind, and live in open defiance to all the laws of justice and common honesty, yet thrive and succeed in their unrighteous practices; and we do not see them reckoned with in this world. What he had said before (ch. 12:6), "The tabernacles of robbers prosper,' he here enlarges upon. He lays down his general proposition (v. 1), that the punishment of wicked people is not so visible and apparent as his friends supposed, and then proves it by an induction of particulars.

  • I. Those that openly do wrong to their poor neighbours are not reckoned with, nor the injured righted (v. 2-12), though the former are very barbarous (v. 21, 22).
  • II. Those that secretly practise mischief often go undiscovered and unpunished (v. 13-17).
  • III. That God punished such by secret judgments and reserves them for future judgments (v. 18-20, and 23-25), so that, upon the whole matter, we cannot say that all who are in trouble are wicked; for it is certain that all who are in prosperity are not righteous.

Job 24:1-12

Job's friends had been very positive in it that they should soon see the fall of wicked people, how much soever they might prosper for a while. By no means, says Job; though times are not hidden from the Almighty, yet those that know him do not presently see his day, v. 1.

  • 1. He takes it for granted that times are not hidden from the Almighty; past times are not hidden from his judgment (Eccl. 3:15), present times are not hidden from his providence (Mt. 10:29), future times are not hidden from his prescience, Acts 15:18. God governs the world, and therefore we may be sure he takes cognizance of it. Bad times are not hidden from him, though the bad men that make the times bad say one to another, He has forsaken the earth, Ps. 94:6, 7. Every man's times are in his hand, and under his eye, and therefore it is in his power to make the times of wicked men in this world miserable. He foresees the time of every man's death, and therefore, if wicked men die before they are punished for their wickedness, we cannot say, "They escaped him by surprise;' he foresaw it, nay, he ordered it. Before Job will enquire into the reasons of the prosperity of wicked men he asserts God's omniscience, as one prophet, in a similar case, asserts his righteousness (Jer. 12:1), another his holiness (Hab. 1:13), another his goodness to his own people, Ps. 73:1. General truths must be held fast, though we may find it difficult to reconcile them to particular events.
  • 2. He yet asserts that those who know him (that is, wise and good people who are acquainted with him, and with whom his secret is) do not see his day,-the day of his judging for them; this was the thing he complained of in his own case (ch. 23:8), that he could not see God appearing on his behalf to plead his cause,-the day of his judging against open and notorious sinners, that is called his day, Ps. 37:13. We believe that day will come, but we do not see it, because it is future, and its presages are secret.
  • 3. Though this is a mystery of Providence, yet there is a reason for it, and we shall shortly know why the judgment is deferred; even the wisest, and those who know God best, do not yet see it. God will exercise their faith and patience, and excite their prayers for the coming of his kingdom, for which they are to cry day and night to him, Lu. 18:7.

For the proof of this, that wicked people prosper, Job specifies two sorts of unrighteous ones, whom all the world saw thriving in their iniquity:-

  • I. Tyrants, and those that do wrong under pretence of law and authority. It is a melancholy sight which has often been seen under the sun, wickedness in the place of judgment (Eccl. 3:16), the unregarded tears of the oppressed, while on the side of the oppressors there was power (Eccl. 4:1), the violent perverting of justice and judgment, Eccl. 5:8.
    • 1. They disseize their neighbours of their real estates, which came to them by descent from their ancestors. They remove the land-marks, under pretence that they were misplaced (v. 2), and so they encroach upon their neighbours' rights and think they effectually secure that to their posterity which they have got wrongfully, by making that to be an evidence for them which should have been an evidence for the rightful owner. This was forbidden by the law of Moses (Deu. 19:14), under a curse, Deu. 27:17. Forging or destroying deeds is now a crime equivalent to this.
    • 2. They dispossess them of their personal estates, under colour of justice. They violently take away flocks, pretending they are forfeited, and feed thereof; as the rich man took the poor man's ewe lamb, 2 Sa. 12:4. If a poor fatherless child has but an ass of his own to get a little money with, they find some colour or other to take it away, because the owner is not able to contest with them. It is all one if a widow has but an ox for what little husbandry she has; under pretence of distraining for some small debt, or arrears of rent, this ox shall be taken for a pledge, though perhaps it is the widow's all. God has taken it among the titles of his honour to be a Father of the fatherless and a judge of the widows; and therefore those will not be reckoned his friends that do not to their utmost protect and help them; but those he will certainly reckon with as his enemies that vex and oppress them.
    • 3. They take all occasions to offer personal abuses to them, v. 4. They will mislead them if they can when they meet them on the high-way, so that the poor and needy are forced to hide themselves from them, having no other way to secure themselves from them. They love in their hearts to banter people, and to make fools of them, and do them a mischief if they can, especially to triumph over poor people, whom they turn out of the way of getting relief, threaten to punish them as vagabonds, and so force them to abscond, and laugh at them when they have done. Some understand those barbarous actions (v. 9, 10) to be done by those oppressors that pretend law for what they do: They pluck the fatherless from the breast; that is, having made poor infants fatherless, they make them motherless too; having taken away the father's life, they break the mother's heart, and so starve the children and leave them to perish. Pharaoh and Herod plucked children from the breast to the sword; and we read of children brought forth to the murderers, Hos. 9:13. Those are inhuman murderers indeed that can with so much pleasure suck innocent blood. They take a pledge of the poor, and so they rob the spital; nay, they take the poor themselves for a pledge (as some read it), and probably it was under this pretence that they plucked the fatherless from the breast, distraining them for slaves, as Neh. 5:5. Cruelty to the poor is great wickedness and cries aloud for vengeance. Those who show no mercy to such as lie at their mercy shall themselves have judgment without mercy. Another instance of their barbarous treatment of those they have advantage against is that they take from them even their necessary food and raiment; they squeeze them so with their extortion that they cause them to go naked without clothing (v. 10) and so catch their death. And if a poor hungry family has gleaned a sheaf of corn, to make a little cake of, that they may eat it and die, even that they take away from them, being well pleased to see them perish for want, while they themselves are fed to the full.
    • 4. They are very oppressive to the labourers they employ in their service. They not only give them no wages, though the labourer is worthy of his hire (and this is a crying sin, Jam. 5:4), but they will not so much as give them meat and drink: Those that carry their sheaves are hungry; so some read it (v. 10), and it agrees with v. 11, that those who make oil within their walls, and with a great deal of toil labour at the wine-presses, yet suffer thirst, which was worse than muzzling the mouth of the ox that treads out the corn. Those masters forget that they have a Master in heaven who will not allow the necessary supports of life to their servants and labourers, not caring whether they can live by their labour or no.
    • 5. It is not only among the poor country people, but in the cities also, that we see the tears of the oppressed (v. 12): Men groan from out of the city, where the rich merchants and traders are as cruel with their poor debtors as the landlords in the country are with their poor tenants. In cities such cruel actions as these are more observed than in obscure corners of the country and the wronged have easier access to justice to right themselves; and yet the oppressors there fear neither the restraints of the law nor the just censures of their neighbours, but the oppressed groan and cry out like wounded men, and can no more ease and help themselves, for the oppressors are inexorable and deaf to their groans.
  • II. He speaks of robbers, and those that do wrong by downright force, as the bands of the Sabeans and Chaldeans, which had lately plundered him. He does not mention them particularly, lest he should seem partial to his own cause, and to judge of men (as we are apt to do) by what they are to us; but among the Arabians, the children of the east (Job's country), there were those that lived by spoil and rapine, making incursions upon their neighbours, and robbing travellers. See how they are described here, and what mischief they do, v. 5-8.
    • 1. Their character is that they are as wild asses in the desert, untamed, untractable, unreasonable, Ishmael's character (Gen. 16:12), fierce and furious, and under no restraint of law or government, Jer. 2:23, 24. They choose the deserts for their dwelling, that they may be lawless and unsociable, and that they may have opportunity of doing the more mischief. The desert is indeed the fittest place for such wild people, ch. 39:6. But no desert can set men out of the reach of God's eye and hand.
    • 2. Their trade is to steal, and to make a prey of all about them. They have chosen it as their trade; it is their work, because there is more to be got by it, and it is got more easily, than by an honest calling. They follow it as their trade; they follow it closely; they go forth to it as their work, as man goes forth to his labour, Ps. 104:23. They are diligent and take pains at it: They rise betimes for a prey. If a traveller be out early, they will be out as soon to rob him. They live by it as a man lives by his trade: The wilderness (not the grounds there but the roads there) yieldeth food for them and for their children; they maintain themselves and their families by robbing on the high-way, and bless themselves in it without any remorse of compassion or conscience, and with as much security as if it were honestly got; as Ephraim, Hos. 12:7, 8.
    • 3. See the mischief they do to the country. They not only rob travellers, but they make incursions upon their neighbours, and reap every one his corn in the field (v. 6), that is, they enter upon other people's ground, cut their corn, and carry it away as freely as if it were their own. Even the wicked gather the vintage, and it is their wickedness; or, as we read it, They gather the vintage of the wicked, and so one wicked man is made a scourge to another. What the wicked got by extortion (which is their way of stealing) these robbers get from them in their way of stealing; thus oftentimes are the spoilers spoiled, Isa. 33:1.
    • 4. The misery of those that fall into their hands (v. 7, 8): They cause the naked, whom they have stripped, not leaving them the clothes to their backs, to lodge, in the cold nights, without clothing, so that they are wet with the showers of the mountains, and, for want of a better shelter, embrace the rock, and are glad of a cave or den in it to preserve them from the injuries of the weather. Eliphaz had charged Job with such inhumanity as this, concluding that Providence would not thus have stripped him if he had not first stripped the naked of their clothing, ch. 22:6. Job here tells him there were those that were really guilty of those crimes with which he was unjustly charged and yet prospered and had success in their villanies, the curse they laid themselves under working invisibly; and Job thinks it more just to argue as he did, from an open notorious course of wickedness inferring a secret and future punishment, than to argue as Eliphaz did, who from nothing but present trouble inferred a course of past secret iniquity. The impunity of these oppressors and spoilers is expressed in one word (v. 12): Yet God layeth not folly to them, that is, he does not immediately prosecute them with his judgments for these crimes, nor make them examples, and so evince their folly to all the world. He that gets riches, and not by right, at his end shall be a fool, Jer. 17:11. But while he prospers he passes for a wise man, and God lays not folly to him until he saith, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, Lu. 12:20.

Job 24:13-17

These verses describe another sort of sinners who therefore go unpunished, because they go undiscovered. They rebel against the light, v. 13. Some understand it figuratively: they sin against the light of nature, the light of God's law, and that of their own consciences; they profess to know God, but they rebel against the knowledge they have of him, and will not be guided and governed, commanded and controlled, by it. Others understand it literally: they have the day-light and choose the night as the most advantageous season for their wickedness. Sinful works are therefore called works of darkness, because he that does evil hates the light (Jn. 3:20), knows not the ways thereof, that is, keeps out of the way of it, or, if he happen to be seen, abides not where he thinks he is known. So that he here describes the worst of sinners,-those that sin wilfully, and against the convictions of their own consciences, whereby they add rebellion to their sin,-those that sin deliberately, and with a great deal of plot and contrivance, using a thousand arts to conceal their villanies, fondly imagining that, if they can but hide them from the eye of men, they are safe, but forgetting that there is no darkness or shadow of death in which the workers of iniquity can hide themselves from God's eye, ch. 34:22. In this paragraph Job specifies three sorts of sinners that shun the light:-

  • 1. Murderers, v. 14. They rise with the light, as soon as ever the day breaks, to kill the poor travellers that are up early and abroad about their business, going to market with a little money or goods; and though it is so little that they are really to be called poor and needy, who with much ado get a sorry livelihood by their marketings, yet, to get it, the murderer will both take his neighbour's life and venture his own, will rather play at such small game than not play at all; nay, he kills for killing sake, thirsting more for blood than for booty. See what care and pains wicked men take to compass their wicked designs, and let the sight shame us out of our negligence and slothfulness in doing good.
    • Ut jugulent homines, surgunt de nocte latrones,
    • Tuque ut te serves non expergisceris?-
    • Rogues nightly rise to murder men for pelf;
    • Will you not rouse you to preserve yourself?
  • 2. Adulterers. The eyes that are full of adultery (2 Pt. 2:14), the unclean and wanton eyes, wait for the twilight, v. 15. The eye of the adulteress did so, Prov. 7:9. Adultery hides its head for shame. The sinners themselves, even the most impudent, do what they can to hide their sin: si non caste, tamen caute-if not chastely, yet cautiously; and after all the wretched endeavours of the factors for hell to take away the reproach of it, it is and ever will be a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret, Eph. 5:12. It hides its head also for fear, knowing that jealousy is the rage of a husband, who will not spare in the day of vengeance, Prov. 6:34, 35. See what pains those take that make provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts of it, pains to compass, and then to conceal, that provision which, after all, will be death and hell at last. Less pains would serve to mortify and crucify the flesh, which would be life and heaven at last. Let the sinner change his heart, and then he needs not disguise his face, but may lift it up without spot.
  • 3. House-breakers, v. 16. These mark houses in the day-time, mark the avenues of a house, and on which side they can most easily force their entrance, and then, in the night, dig through them, either to kill, or steal, or commit adultery. The night favours the assault, and makes the defence the more difficult; for the good man of the house knows not what hour the thief will come and therefore is asleep (Lu. 12:39) and he and his lie exposed. For this reason our law makes burglary, which is the breaking and entering of a dwelling-house in the night time with a felonious intent, to be felony without benefit of clergy.
  • And, lastly, Job observes (and perhaps observes it as part of the present, though secret, punishment of such sinners as these) that they are in a continual terror for fear of being discovered (v. 17): The morning is to them even as the shadow of death. The light of the day, which is welcome to honest people, is a terror to bad people. They curse the sun, not as the Moors, because it scorches them, but because it discovers them. If one know them, their consciences fly in their faces, and they are ready to become their own accusers; for they are in the terrors of the shadow of death. Shame came in with sin, and everlasting shame is at the end of it. See the misery of sinners-they are exposed to continual frights; and yet see their folly-they are afraid of coming under the eye of men, but have no dread of God's eye, which is always upon them: they are not afraid of doing that which yet they are so terribly afraid of being known to do.

Job 24:18-25

Job here, in the conclusion of his discourse,

  • I. Gives some further instances of the wickedness of these cruel bloody men.
    • 1. Some are pirates and robbers at sea. To this many learned interpreters apply those difficult expressions (v. 18), He is swift upon the waters. Privateers choose those ships that are the best sailors. In these swift ships they cruise from one channel to another, to pick up prizes; and this brings them in so much wealth that their portion is cursed in the earth, and they behold not the way of the vineyards, that is (as bishop Patrick explains it), they despise the employment of those who till the ground and plant vineyards as poor and unprofitable. But others make this a further description of the conduct of those sinners that are afraid of the light: if they be discovered, they get away as fast as they can, and choose to lurk, not in the vineyards, for fear of being discovered, but in some cursed portion, a lonely and desolate place, which nobody looks after.
    • 2. Some are abusive to those that are in trouble, and add affliction to the afflicted. Barrenness was looked upon as a great reproach, and those that fall under that affliction they upbraid with it, as Peninnah did Hannah, on purpose to vex them and make them to fret, which is a barbarous thing. This is evil entreating the barren that beareth not (v. 21), or those that are childless, and so want the arrows others have in their quiver, which enable them to deal with their enemy in the gate, Ps. 127:5. They take that advantage against and are oppressive to them. As the fatherless, so the childless, are in some degree helpless. For the same reason it is a cruel thing to hurt the widow, to whom we ought to do good; and not doing good, when it is in our power, is doing hurt.
    • 3. There are those who, by inuring themselves to cruelty, come at last to be so exceedingly boisterous that they are the terror of the mighty in the land of the living (v. 22): "He draws the mighty into a snare with his power; even the greatest are not able to stand before him when he is in his mad fits: he rises up in his passion, and lays about him with so much fury that no man is sure of his life; nor can he at the same time be sure of his own, for his hand is against every man and every man's hand against him,' Gen. 16:12. One would wonder how any man can take pleasure in making all about him afraid of him, yet there are those that do.
  • II. He shows that these daring sinners prosper, and are at ease for a while, nay, and often end their days in peace, as Ishmael, who, though he was a man of such a character as is here given, yet both lived and died in the presence of all his brethren, as we are told, Gen. 16:12; 25:18: Of these sinners here it is said,
    • 1. That it is given them to be in safety, v. 23. They seem to be under the special protection of the divine Providence; and one would wonder how they escape with life through so many dangers as they run themselves into.
    • 2. That they rest upon this, that is, they rely upon this as sufficient to warrant all their violences. Because sentence against their evil works is not executed speedily they think that there is no great evil in them, and that God is not displeased with them, nor will ever call them to an account. Their prosperity is their security.
    • 3. That they are exalted for a while. They seem to be the favourites of heaven, and value themselves as making the best figure on earth. They are set up in honour, set up (as they think) out of the reach of danger, and lifted up in the pride of their own spirits.
    • 4. That, at length, they are carried out of the world very silently and gently, and without any remarkable disgrace or terror. "They go down to the grave as easily as snow-water sinks into the dry ground when it is melted by the sun;' so bishop Patrick explains v. 19. To the same purport he paraphrases v. 20, The womb shall forget him, etc. "God sets no such mark of his displeasure upon him but that his mother may soon forget him. The hand of justice does not hang him on a gibbet for the birds to feed on; but he is carried to his grave like other men, to be the sweet food of worms. There he lies quietly, and neither he nor his wickedness is any more remembered than a tree which is broken to shivers.' And v. 24, They are taken out of the way as all others, that is, "they are shut up in their graves like all other men; nay, they die as easily (without those tedious pains which some endure) as an ear of corn is cropped with your hand.' Compare this with Solomon's observation (Eccl. 8:10), I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten.
  • III. He foresees their fall however, and that their death, though they die in ease and honour, will be their ruin. God's eyes are upon their ways, v. 23. Though he keep silence, and seem to connive at them, yet he takes notice, and keeps account of all their wickedness, and will make it to appear shortly that their most secret sins, which they thought no eye should see (v. 15), were under his eye and will be called over again. Here is no mention of the punishment of these sinners in the other world, but it is intimated in the particular notice taken of the consequences of their death.
    • 1. The consumption of the body in the grave, though common to all, yet to them is in the nature of a punishment for their sin. The grave shall consume those that have sinned; that land of darkness will be the lot of those that love darkness rather than light. The bodies they pampered shall be a feast for worms, which shall feed as sweetly on them as ever they fed on the pleasures and gains of their sins.
    • 2. Though they thought to make themselves a great name by their wealth, and power, and mighty achievements, yet their memorial perished with them, Ps. 9:6. He that made himself so much talked of shall, when he is dead, be no more remembered with honour; his name shall rot, Prov. 10:7. Those that durst not give him his due character while he lived shall not spare him when he is dead; so that the womb that bore him, his own mother, shall forget him, that is, shall avoid making mention of him, and shall think that the greatest kindness she can do him, since no good can be said of him. That honour which is got by sin will soon turn into shame.
    • 3. The wickedness they thought to establish in their families shall be broken as a tree; all their wicked projects shall be blasted, and all their wicked hopes dashed and buried with them.
    • 4. Their pride shall be brought down and laid in the dust (v. 24); and, in mercy to the world, they shall be taken out of the way, and all their power and prosperity shall be cut off. You may seek them, and they shall not be found. Job owns that wicked people will be miserable at last, miserable on the other side death, but utterly denies what his friends asserted, that ordinarily they are miserable in this life.
  • IV. He concludes with a bold challenge to all that were present to disprove what he had said if they could (v. 25): "If it be not so now, as I have declared, and if it do not thence follow that I am unjustly condemned and censured, let those that can undertake to prove that my discourse is either,
    • 1. False in itself, and then they prove me a liar; or,
    • 2. Foreign, and nothing to the purpose, and then they prove my speech frivolous and nothing worth.' That indeed which is false is nothing worth; where there is not truth, how can there be goodness? But those that speak the words of truth and soberness need not fear having what they say brought to the test, but can cheerfully submit it to a fair examination, as Job does here.