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Texts -- Job 24:1-20 (NET)

Context
The Apparent Indifference of God
24:1 “Why are times not appointed by the Almighty ? Why do those who know him not see his days ? 24:2 Men move boundary stones; they seize the flock and pasture them. 24:3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey ; they take the widow’s ox as a pledge . 24:4 They turn the needy from the pathway , and the poor of the land hide themselves together . 24:5 Like wild donkeys in the desert they go out to their labor , seeking diligently for food ; the wasteland provides food for them and for their children . 24:6 They reap fodder in the field , and glean in the vineyard of the wicked . 24:7 They spend the night naked because they lack clothing ; they have no covering against the cold . 24:8 They are soaked by mountain rains and huddle in the rocks because they lack shelter . 24:9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast , the infant of the poor is taken as a pledge . 24:10 They go about naked , without clothing , and go hungry while they carry the sheaves . 24:11 They press out the olive oil between the rows of olive trees; they tread the winepresses while they are thirsty . 24:12 From the city the dying groan , and the wounded cry out for help , but God charges no one with wrongdoing . 24:13 There are those who rebel against the light ; they do not know its ways and they do not stay on its paths . 24:14 Before daybreak the murderer rises up; he kills the poor and the needy ; in the night he is like a thief . 24:15 And the eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight , thinking , ‘No eye can see me,’ and covers his face with a mask . 24:16 In the dark the robber breaks into houses , but by day they shut themselves in; they do not know the light . 24:17 For all of them , the morning is to them like deep darkness ; they are friends with the terrors of darkness . 24:18 “You say, ‘He is foam on the face of the waters ; their portion of the land is cursed so that no one goes to their vineyard . 24:19 The drought as well as the heat carry away the melted snow ; so the grave takes away those who have sinned . 24:20 The womb forgets him, the worm feasts on him, no longer will he be remembered . Like a tree , wickedness will be broken down .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Homicide

    [nave] HOMICIDE. Accidental Ex. 21:13, 28-32; Num. 35:11-15, 22-28, 32 Deut. 4:41-43; 19:1-10. Josh. 20:1-9 Felonious or Murder: Gen. 4:9-11 v. 12.; Gen. 9:5, 6; Gen. 49:7; Ex. 20:13 Deut. 5:17; Rom. 13:9. Ex. 21:29-32; Num. 35...

  • Job

    [nave] JOB 1. A man who dwelt in Uz, Job 1:1. Righteousness of, Job 1:1, 5, 8; 2:3; Ezek. 14:14, 20. Riches of, Job 1:3. Trial of, by affliction of Satan, Job 1:13-19; 2:7-10. Fortitude of, Job 1:20-22; 2:10; Jas. 5:11. Visite...

  • JOB, BOOK OF

    [isbe] JOB, BOOK OF - || I. INTRODUCTORY 1. Place in the Canon 2. Rank and Readers II. THE LITERARY FRAMEWORK 1. Setting of Time, Place and Scene 2. Characters and Personality 3. Form and Style III. THE COURSE OF THE STORY A) To Jo...

  • Wicked

    [nave] WICKED Compared with: Abominable branches, Isa. 14:19; ashes under the feet, Mal. 4:3; bad fishes, Matt. 13:48; beasts, Psa. 49:12; 2 Pet. 2:12; the blind, Zeph. 1:17; Matt. 15:14; bronze and iron, Jer. 6:28; Ezek. 22:18; br...

  • God

    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • PALESTINE, 3

    [isbe] PALESTINE, 3 - IV. Palestine in the Poetic Books of the Old Testament. 1. Book of Job: In Job the scene is distinctively Edomite. Uz (Job 1:1; compare Gen 22:21 the English Revised Version; Jer 25:20; Lam 4:21) and Buz (Job ...

  • Dishonesty

    [nave] DISHONESTY. Lev. 6:2-7; Lev. 19:13, 35, 36; Deut. 25:13, 15, 16; Job 24:2-11; Psa. 37:21; Psa. 50:18; Psa. 62:10; Prov. 3:27, 28; Prov. 11:1; Prov. 20:10, 14, 17, 23; Isa. 32:7; Jer. 7:8-10; Jer. 9:4-6, 8; Jer. 22:13; Ezek....

  • Poor

    [isbe] POOR - poor ('ebhyon, dal, `ani, rush; ptochos): I. In the Old Testament. The poor have great prominence in the Bible; it is said, indeed, that there should be no poor among the Hebrews because Yahweh should so greatly bless...
    [nave] POOR Atonement money of, uniform with that of the rich, Ex. 30:15. Inexpensive offerings of the poor, Lev. 5:7; 12:8; 14:21, 22. See: Beneficence; Giving; Liberality; Orphans; Poverty; Widow. Also See: Rich; Riches. Uncl...

  • Adultery

    [isbe] ADULTERY - a-dul'-ter-i: In Scripture designates sexual intercourse of a man, whether married or unmarried, with a married woman. 1. Its Punishment: It is categorically prohibited in the Decalogue (seventh commandment, Ex 20...
    [nave] ADULTERY. Gen. 20:3; 2 Sam. 12:14; Job 24:15-17 v. 18.; Job 31:1, 9-12; Prov. 2:16, 18, 19 v. 17.; Prov. 5:3, 4 vs. 5-22.; Prov. 6:24-29, 32, 33; Prov. 7:5-23; Prov. 9:13-18; Prov. 22:14; Prov. 23:27, 28; Prov. 29:3; Prov. ...

  • Creditor

    [nave] CREDITOR. Laws Concerning Ex. 21:2-6; Ex. 22:25-27; Lev. 25:14-17, 35-37; Deut. 15:2, 3; Deut. 23:19, 20; Deut. 24:6, 10-13, 17; Matt. 5:42; Luke 6:34 Oppressions of 2 Kin. 4:1; Neh. 5:1-13; Job 20:18-20; Job 22:6; Job 2...

  • Orphan

    [nave] ORPHAN. Ex. 22:22-24; Deut. 10:18; Deut. 14:28, 29; Deut. 16:11, 14; Deut. 24:17-22; Deut. 26:12, 13; Deut. 27:19; Job 6:27; Job 22:9; Job 24:3, 9; Job 29:12, 13; Job 31:16-18, 21; Psa. 10:14, 17, 18; Psa. 27:10; Psa. 68:5;...

  • FATHERLESS

    [isbe] FATHERLESS - fa'-ther-les (yathom; orphanos): The fatherless are frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, generally in association with the widow and the stranger, as typical instances of the unprotected and necessitous, w...

  • AGRICULTURE

    [ebd] Tilling the ground (Gen. 2:15; 4:2, 3, 12) and rearing cattle were the chief employments in ancient times. The Egyptians excelled in agriculture. And after the Israelites entered into the possession of the Promised Land, the...
    [smith] This was little cared for by the patriarchs. The pastoral life, however, was the means of keeping the sacred race, whilst yet a family, distinct from mixture and locally unattached, especially whilst in Egypt. When grown into...

  • Nakedness

    [nave] NAKEDNESS Gen. 2:25; 3:7, 10, 11; 9:22, 23; Ex. 20:26; Deut. 28:48; 2 Chr. 28:15; Job 1:21; 22:6; 24:7, 10; 26:6; Eccl. 5:15; Isa. 47:3; 57:8; 58:7; Lam. 1:8; 4:21; Ezek. 16:7, 8, 22, 36, 37, 39; 18:7, 16; 23:10, 18, 29; Hos...

  • PLEDGE

    [isbe] PLEDGE - plej (verbs chabhal (10 times), `arabh (2 Ki 18:23 = Isa 36:8); nouns chahal (Ezek 18:12,16; 33:15), chabcholah (Ezek 18:7), `arubbah), (1 Sam 17:18), erabhon (Gen 38:17,18,20); also abhoT (Dt 24:10-13) and (the Rev...

  • Breast

    [isbe] BREAST - brest: Signifying the front view of the bust in humans and the corresponding portion of the body in animals. chazeh, occurs in Ex 29:26,27; Lev 7:30,31,34; 8:29; 10:14,15; Nu 6:20; 18:18; and chadhi, in Dan 2:32. sh...
    [nave] BREAST parts of a sacrifice: Ex. 29:26, 27; Lev. 7:30, 30, 31, 34; 8:29; 9:20, 21; 10:14, 15; Num. 6:20; 18:18 area of the lap, chest: Jer. 31:19; Ezek. 21:12; Luke 18:13; 23:48; John 13:25; 21:20; Rev. 1:13; 15:6 of women: ...

  • LIGHT

    [isbe] LIGHT - lit ('or, ma'or; phos; many other words): 1. Origin of Light 2. A Comprehensive Term (1) Natural Light (2) Artificial Light (3) Miraculous Light (4) Mental, Moral, Spiritual Light 3. An Attribute of Holiness (1) God ...

  • LANDMARK

    [ebd] a boundary line indicated by a stone, stake, etc. (Deut. 19:14; 27:17; Prov. 22:28; 23:10; Job 24:2). Landmarks could not be removed without incurring the severe displeasure of God.
    [isbe] LANDMARK - land'-mark (gebhul, literally, "boundary"): The boundary may have been marked, as at present, simply by a furrow or stone. The iniquity of removing a landmark is frequently insisted on (Dt 19:14; 27:17; Prov 22:28...

  • WORM

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. sas (Isa. 51:8), denotes the caterpillar of the clothes-moth. (2.) The manna bred worms (tola'im), but on the Sabbath there was not any worm (rimmah) therein (Ex. 16:20, 24). Here these words refer to caterpillars ...
    [smith] the representative in the Authorized Version of several Hebrew words. Sas , which occurs in (Isaiah 51:18) probably denotes some particular species of moth, whose larva is injurious to wool. Rimmah , (Exodus 16:20) points evi...

  • WINE

    [ebd] The common Hebrew word for wine is yayin, from a root meaning "to boil up," "to be in a ferment." Others derive it from a root meaning "to tread out," and hence the juice of the grape trodden out. The Greek word for wine is ...
    [smith] The manufacture of wine is carried back in the Bible to the age of Noah, (Genesis 9:20,21) to whom the discovery of the process is apparently, though not explicitly, attributed. The natural history and culture of the vine are...
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Arts

Questions

  • I've heard and read the same statement a number of times, but have never troubled myself to look up each passage. I'm not surprised that looking up "heaven" and "hell" in a concordance would give you contradictory results. T...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • What this book is all about has been the subject of considerable debate. Many people think God gave it to us to provide His answer to the age-old problem of suffering. In particular, many believe it is in the Bible to help us...
  • I. Prologue chs. 1-2A. Job's character 1:1-5B. Job's calamities 1:6-2:101. The first test 1:6-222. The second test 2:1-10C. Job's comforters 2:11-13II. The dialogue concerning the basis of the divine-human relationship 3:1-42...
  • The writer composed the prologue and epilogue of this book in prose narrative and the main body (3:1-42:6) in poetry. The prologue and epilogue form a frame around the main emphasis of the revelation, the poetic section, and ...
  • Much of Job's suffering was intellectual. He asked, "Why?"frequently in this soliloquy (vv. 11, 12, 20, 23) and in the dialogue that follows (7:20, 21; 9:29; 13:24; 21:4; 24:1)."My groaning comes at the sight of my food"(v. 2...
  • God's irresistible power and inscrutable behavior made Job afraid (23:13-17). Nevertheless he determined to confront God with His apparent injustice.Job could not understand why God did not always judge overt sin quickly (24:...
  • Since 27:1 begins, "Then Job continued . . .,"Job may have paused and waited for Zophar to respond. However we have no third speech by him in the text. Evidently Job proceeded to elaborate further on Bildad's "wisdom"but broa...
  • Elihu began by voicing his respect for Job's three friends (vv. 6-10). They were older than he, and for this reason he said he had refrained from speaking until now. However he had become convinced that advancing age does not...
  • Elihu made two responses to what he inferred was Job's attitude. First, he claimed that God is under no obligation to react to people's actions be they good or bad. He is free to respond or not respond as He chooses. God is a...
  • That another oracle is in view is clear from the question and answer format that begins this pericope, as it does the others. Verse 17 contains the question and answer, and the discussion follows in 3:1-6. The Israelites' cha...
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