章 |
24:1 |
'Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty, and why do those who know him never see his days?
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24:2 |
Men remove landmarks;they seize flocks and pasture them.
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24:3 |
They drive away the ass of the fatherless;they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
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24:4 |
They thrust the poor off the road;the poor of the earth all hide themselves.
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24:5 |
Behold, like wild asses in the desert they go forth to their toil, seeking prey in the wilderness as food for their children.
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24:6 |
They gather their fodder in the field and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.
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24:7 |
They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.
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24:8 |
They are wet with the rain of the mountains, and cling to the rock for want of shelter.
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24:9 |
(There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast, and take in pledge the infant of the poor.)
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24:10 |
They go about naked, without clothing;hungry, they carry the sheaves;
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24:11 |
among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil;they tread the wine presses, but suffer thirst.
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24:12 |
From out of the city the dying groan, and the soul of the wounded cries for help;yet God pays no attention to their prayer.
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24:13 |
'There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths.
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24:14 |
The murderer rises in the dark, that he may kill the poor and needy;and in the night he is as a thief.
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24:15 |
The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, No eye will see me';and he disguises his face.
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24:16 |
In the dark they dig through houses;by day they shut themselves up;they do not know the light.
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24:17 |
For deep darkness is morning to all of them;for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.
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24:18 |
'You say, 'They are swiftly carried away upon the face of the waters;their portion is cursed in the land;no treader turns toward their vineyards.
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24:19 |
Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;so does Sheol those who have sinned.
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24:20 |
The squares of the town forget them;their name is no longer remembered;so wickedness is broken like a tree.'
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24:21 |
'They feed on the barren childless woman, and do no good to the widow.
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24:22 |
Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;they rise up when they despair of life.
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24:23 |
He gives them security, and they are supported;and his eyes are upon their ways.
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24:24 |
They are exalted a little while, and then are gone;they wither and fade like the mallow;they are cut off like the heads of grain.
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24:25 |
If it is not so, who will prove me a liar, and show that there is nothing in what I say?'
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