Who Can Prove Me a Liar?

¹“Why are times not stored up by the Almighty,[#24:1 Times of judgment]

And why do those who know Him not behold His days?

²“Some move the boundaries;[#24:2 Lit They]

They seize and devour flocks.

³“They drive away the donkeys of the orphans;

They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

⁴“They push the needy aside from the road;

The afflicted of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.

⁵“Behold, as wild donkeys in the wilderness

They go forth seeking food earnestly in their work,

The desert becomes for him a place of bread for his young ones.

⁶“They harvest their fodder in the field

And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

⁷“They spend the night naked, without clothing,

And have no covering against the cold.

⁸“They are wet with the mountain rains

And hug the rock for want of a shelter.

⁹“Others snatch the orphan from the breast,[#24:9 Lit They]

And against the afflicted they take a pledge.

¹⁰“Those poor ones walk about naked without clothing,

And hungry ones carry the sheaves.

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 does not pay attention to such offense.

¹³¶“Others have been with those who rebel against the light;[#24:13 Lit They]

They do not want to recognize its ways

Nor abide in its paths.

¹⁴“The murderer arises at dawn;

He kills the afflicted and the needy,

And at night he is as a thief.

¹⁵“The eye of the adulterer keeps watch for the twilight,

Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’

And he keeps his face hidden.

¹⁶“In the dark they dig into houses;

They shut themselves up by day;

They do not know the light.

¹⁷“For the morning is the same to him as the shadow of death,

For he recognizes the terrors of the shadow of death.

¹⁸¶“They are insignificant on the surface of the water;[#24:18 Implied, they (Job’s friends) say ; Job 24:18-21; #24:18 Or light , swift]

Their portion is cursed on the earth.

They do not turn toward the vineyards.

¹⁹“Drought and heat seize the snow waters,

So does Sheol those who have sinned.

²⁰“A mother will forget him;[#24:20 Lit womb]

The worm feasts sweetly till he is no longer remembered.

And unrighteousness will be broken like a tree.

²¹“He feeds on the barren woman who does not give birth

And does no good for the widow.

²²¶“But He drags off the mighty by His power;

He rises, but no one believes in his life.

²³“He provides them with security, and they are supported;

And His eyes are on their ways.

²⁴“They are exalted a little while, then they are gone;

Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up;

Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

²⁵“Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar,

And make my speech worthless?”