Job 24:7-10

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 ¹  in the rocks because they lack shelter.

24:9 The fatherless child is snatched ²  from the breast, ³ 

the infant of the poor is taken as a pledge. ⁴ 

24:10 They go about naked, without clothing,

and go hungry while they carry the sheaves. ⁵ 

[24:8]  ¹ tn Heb “embrace” or “hug.”

[24:9]  ² tn The verb with no expressed subject is here again taken in the passive: “they snatch” becomes “[child] is snatched.”

[24:9]  ³ tn This word is usually defined as “violence; ruin.” But elsewhere it does mean “breast” (Isa 60:16; 66:11), and that is certainly what it means here.

[24:9]  ⁴ tc The MT has a very brief and strange reading: “they take as a pledge upon the poor.” This could be taken as “they take a pledge against the poor” (ESV). Kamphausen suggested that instead of עַל (’al, “against”) one should read עוּל (’ul, “suckling”). This is supported by the parallelism. “They take as pledge” is also made passive here.

[24:10]  ⁵ sn The point should not be missed – amidst abundant harvests, carrying sheaves about, they are still going hungry.