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24:1 "Why are times not kept by the Almighty, and why do those who know him never see his days? 24:2 The wicked remove landmarks; they seize flocks and pasture them. 24:3 They drive away the donkey of the orphan; they take the widow's ox for a pledge. 24:4 They thrust the needy off the road; the poor of the earth all hide themselves. 24:5 Like wild asses in the desert they go out to their toil, scavenging in the wasteland food for their young. 24:6 They reap in a field not their own and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked. 24:7 They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold. 24:8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains, and cling to the rock for want of shelter. 24:9 "There are those who snatch the orphan child from the breast, and take as a pledge the infant of the poor. 24:10 They go about naked, without clothing; though hungry, they carry the sheaves; 24:11 between their terraces they press out oil; they tread the wine presses, but suffer thirst. 24:12 From the city the dying groan, and the throat of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer. 24:13 "There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths. 24:14 The murderer rises at dusk to kill the poor and needy, and in the night is like a thief. 24:15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, 'No eye will see me'; and he disguises his face. 24:16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light. 24:17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness. 24:18 "Swift are they on the face of the waters; their portion in the land is cursed; no treader turns toward their vineyards. 24:19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters; so does Sheol those who have sinned. 24:20 The womb forgets them; the worm finds them sweet; they are no longer remembered; so wickedness is broken like a tree. 24:21 "They harm the childless woman, and do no good to the widow. 24:22 Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power; they rise up when they despair of life. 24:23 He gives them security, and they are supported; his eyes are upon their ways. 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. 24:25 If it is not so, who will prove me a liar, and show that there is nothing in what I say?"