Job 24:2-4

Some evil people steal things. But other evil people are just cruel. The widow in verse 3 owed money. The lender thought that it was right for him to take her cow. But that lender was cruel and evil. The widow needed to have a cow in order to look after her land. Without the cow, the widow will become very poor. The lender has taken her strongest animal away from her.

Poor people suffer greatly

v5 Poor people are like wild donkeys (small horses) in the desert. For such people, their work is to find food. They find their children’s food in wild places. v6 They collect any grains that remain in the fields. They take any fruit that the wicked man leaves in his garden.

v7 They have no clothes to wear by night. So, these poor people must sleep naked. They have nothing to wear when the weather is cold. v8 They are wet whenever rain falls on the mountains. They hug the rocks because they have no shelter. v9 But a rich man will even steal a baby that has no father. That rich man will take that child to be his slave, because the mother cannot pay her debt.

v10 Poor people wander about naked because they have no clothes. Although they harvest the crops, they themselves are still hungry. v11 They make the oil. They make the wine. But nobody allows them to drink it. v12 They scream as they are dying in the city. Their spirits cry out for help. But God does not accuse the man who caused these poor people to suffer.