24:1 Why are not times set by the Almighty, and why do his friends not see his days?
24:2 The wicked remove landmarks; they steal away herds and pasture them.
24:3 The asses of orphans they drive away; they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
24:4 They force the needy off the road; all the poor of the land are driven into hiding.
24:5 Like wild asses in the desert, these go forth to their task of seeking food; The steppe provides food for the young among them;
24:6 they harvest at night in the untilled land.
24:7 They pass the night naked, without clothing, for they have no covering against the cold;
24:8 They are drenched with the rain of the mountains, and for want of shelter they cling to the rock.
24:9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.
24:10 and famished are those who carry the sheaves.
24:11 Between the rows they press out the oil; they glean in the the vineyard of the wicked. They tread the wine presses, yet suffer thirst,
24:12 From the dust the dying groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out (yet God does not treat it as unseemly).
24:13 There are those who are rebels against the light; they know not its ways; they abide not in its paths.
24:14 When there is no light the murderer rises, to kill the poor and needy.
24:15 The eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight; he says, "No eye will see me." In the night the thief roams about, and he puts a mask over his face;
24:16 in the dark he breaks into houses. By day they shut themselves in; none of them know the light,
24:17 for daylight they regard as darkness.
24:18 Their portion in the land is accursed,
24:19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.
24:20 The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on them; evil men are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree.
24:21 They prey on the barren and childless woman, and to the widow show no kindness.
24:22 To him who rises without assurance of his life
24:23 he gives safety and support. He sustains the mighty by his strength, and his eyes are on their ways.
24:24 They are exalted for a while, and then they are gone; they are laid low and, like all others, are gathered up; like ears of grain they shrivel.
24:25 If this be not so, who will confute me, and reduce my argument to nought?