Job 24:1-25 NIrV

[1] “Why doesn’t the Mighty One set a time for judging sinful people? Why do those who know him have to keep waiting for that day? [2] People move their neighbor’s boundary stones. They steal their neighbor’s flocks. [3] They take away the donkeys that belong to children whose fathers have died. They take a widow’s ox until she has paid what she owes. [4] They push those who are needy out of their way. They force all the poor people in the land to go into hiding. [5] The poor are like wild donkeys in the desert. They have to go around looking for food. The dry and empty land provides the only food for their children. [6] The poor go to the fields and get a little grain. They gather up what is left in the vineyards of sinners. [7] The poor don’t have any clothes. So they spend the night naked. They don’t have anything to cover themselves in the cold. [8] They are soaked by mountain rains. They hug the rocks because they don’t have anything to keep them warm. [9] Children whose fathers have died are torn away from their mothers. A poor person’s baby is taken away to pay back what is owed. [10] The poor don’t have any clothes. They go around naked. They carry bundles of grain, but they still go hungry. [11] They work very hard as they crush olives. They stomp on grapes in winepresses, but they are still thirsty. [12] The groans of those who are dying are heard from the city. Those who are wounded cry out for help. But God doesn’t charge anyone with doing what is wrong. [13] “Some people hate it when daylight comes. In the daytime they never walk outside. [14] When daylight is gone, murderers get up. They kill poor people and those who are in need. In the night they sneak around like robbers. [15] Those who commit adultery wait until the sun goes down. They think, ‘No one will see us.’ They keep their faces hidden. [16] In the dark, thieves break into houses. But by day they shut themselves in. They don’t want anything to do with the light. [17] Midnight is like morning to them. The terrors of darkness are their friends. [18] “But sinners are like bubbles on the surface of water. Their share of the land is under God’s curse. So no one goes to their vineyards. [19] Melted snow disappears when the air is hot and dry. And sinners disappear when they go down into their graves. [20] Even their mothers forget them. The worms in their graves eat them up. No one remembers sinful people anymore. They are cut down like trees. [21] They mistreat women who aren’t able to have children. They aren’t kind to widows. [22] But God is powerful. He even drags away people who are strong. When he rises up against them, they can never be sure they are safe. [23] God might let them rest and feel secure. But his eyes see how they live. [24] For a little while they are honored. Then they are gone. They are brought low. And they die like everyone else. They are cut off like heads of grain. [25] “Who can prove that what I’m saying is wrong? Who can prove that my words aren’t true?”