FocusWisdom and the demand for an answer
Connection to the wholeThe later speeches, poem on wisdom, and Job's final defense bring the dispute to the point of his appeal for an answer.
interpretation Job 24:4
KJVThey turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.
Read it in context
Job: Judgment for the Wicked
Start reading at Job 24:1 (Job 24:1 to Job 24:25).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
The later speeches, poem on wisdom, and Job's final defense bring the dispute to the point of his appeal for an answer.
- 24:1 Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?
- 24:2 Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.
- 24:3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
- 24:4 They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.
- 24:5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.
- 24:6 They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked.
- 24:7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.
- 24:8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
- 24:9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.
- 24:10 They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;
- 24:11 Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
- 24:12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.
- 24:13 They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
- 24:14 The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
- 24:15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.
- 24:16 In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.
- 24:17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
- 24:18 He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.
- 24:19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.
- 24:20 The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.
- 24:21 He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.
- 24:22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.
- 24:23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.
- 24:24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.
- 24:25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?
Who
- Who wrote the book? The author is unknown. Moses is one ancient traditional proposal, but neither that proposal nor another named author can be established with confidence. Historical source: Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b–15a (record of Jewish attribution, not contemporary proof). book background
- Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Job 23:1–24:25): Job answers concerning his desire to present his case before God and the apparent delay of justice. stated in the text
- Who was the book written to? Readers within Israel's wisdom tradition, wrestling with innocent suffering, justice, and the limits of human judgment. No named individual or first community is identified. Biblical references: Job 28:28; Job 42:7. book background
What
- What is the topic of this reading unit? Job: Judgment for the Wicked. Read Job 24:1 through Job 24:25 as a connected unit. interpretation
- How does it contribute to the book? The later speeches, poem on wisdom, and Job's final defense bring the dispute to the point of his appeal for an answer. interpretation
When
- When are the events or message set? The book supplies no royal date or exact historical year for Job's experiences. Proposed patriarchal-era settings are historical inferences, not a date explicitly stated by the narrative. book background
Where
- What is the book’s geographic setting? Job is introduced as a man in the land of Uz. The poetic speeches range through imagined and remembered scenes that should not all be treated as the speakers' physical locations. book background
- Where does the context start? This passage sits in Job: Judgment for the Wicked (Job 24:1 to Job 24:25). Start reading at Job 24:1. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
- How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? James refers to Job's endurance and the Lord's compassion. Connections between Job's suffering and Christ may be considered as comparisons; Job's speeches should not all be treated as direct predictions of Jesus. See Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15. interpretation
- How should this book guide our response? Do not assume that a sufferer's losses prove a hidden sin. Listen carefully, distinguish the speakers, and read their claims alongside the LORD's concluding rebuke of the friends. interpretation
Cited: Job 24:1, Job 24:25, Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15
Who wrote it, and how we know
Uncertain; among the oldest books of Scripture
Not known
What Scripture saysThe book does not name its author.
Early traditionJewish tradition (Baba Bathra 14b) suggested Moses, but ancient opinion varied widely.
What is debatedThe author is unknown and the date is uncertain. The setting appears patriarchal, but the book could have been written far later.
Related passages
- turn Job 24:14 Job 31:16 Ps 109:16 Prov 22:16 Prov 30:14 Isa 10:2 Ezek 18:12,18 Ezek 22:29
- hide Prov 28:12,28 Jas 5:4-6
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Job 24
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Job
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated.
Job's losses and the friends' arrival
Job 1:1–2:13FocusSuffering and the opening test
Connection to the wholeThe narrative establishes Job's losses and integrity before the speeches begin, giving readers information the disputing friends do not possess.
interpretation The lament and first exchange
Job 3:1–14:22FocusSuffering questioned and explained
Connection to the wholeJob's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
interpretation The second exchange
Job 15:1–21:34FocusAccusation and protest intensify
Connection to the wholeThe argument sharpens as the friends connect suffering with wickedness and Job challenges their account of the wicked's fortunes.
interpretation FocusWisdom and the demand for an answer
Connection to the wholeThe later speeches, poem on wisdom, and Job's final defense bring the dispute to the point of his appeal for an answer.
interpretation Elihu speaks
Job 32:1–37:24FocusClaims about God's justice and instruction
Connection to the wholeA new speaker responds to Job and the friends before the LORD's speeches begin; his speech must be distinguished from the divine answer.
interpretation The LORD answers
Job 38:1–41:34FocusCreation and the limits of human knowledge
Connection to the wholeThe LORD questions Job concerning the created order, confronting the limits of his knowledge and his attempt to contend with God.
interpretation Job's response and the conclusion
Job 42:1–17FocusRepentance, rebuke, and restoration
Connection to the wholeJob responds, the friends are rebuked, and the narrative closes with intercession and restoration without turning every speech into endorsed doctrine.
interpretation Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.