^24:1 Times are not hidden from the Almighty; but those who know him are ignorant of his days.
^24:2 Some have moved boundaries; they have plundered flocks and pastured them.
^24:3 They have driven away the donkey of orphans and taken away the ox of the widow as a pledge.
^24:4 They have overturned the way of the poor and have oppressed together the meek of the earth.
^24:5 Others, like wild asses in the desert, go forth to their work, and, keeping watch for plunder, prepare bread for their children.
^24:6 They reap a field not their own, and they harvest the vineyard of him whom they have oppressed by force.
^24:7 They send men away naked, taking away their garments, from those who have no covering in the cold,
^24:8 whom the rains of the mountains drench, and, having no covering, they embrace the stones.
^24:9 They have used violence, plundering orphans, and they have stripped the poor common people.
^24:10 From the naked, and from those walking without clothing and hungering, they have taken away the ears of grain.
^24:11 Among their heaps they have rested at midday, those who, having trodden the winepresses, thirst.
^24:12 From the cities they have made men groan, and the souls of those beaten will cry out, and God does not allow it to go unavenged.
^24:13 They were rebellious against the light; they did not know its ways, nor did they return by its paths.
^24:14 At first light the murderer rises; he kills the needy and the poor; but by night he will be like a thief.
^24:15 The eye of the adulterer watches for darkness, saying: No eye will see me, and he will cover his face.
^24:16 In the darkness they dig through houses, as they had agreed for themselves by day, and they have not known the light;
^24:17 if the dawn suddenly appears, they think it the shadow of death. And thus they walk in darkness as in light;
^24:18 he is light upon the face of the water. Let his portion on the earth be cursed, and let him not walk by the way of the vineyards:
^24:19 let him pass from the waters of snow to excessive heat. And his sin even to the lower regions:
^24:20 let mercy forget him; let his sweetness be the worm. Let him not be in remembrance, but let him be crushed like an unfruitful tree.
^24:21 For he has fed the barren woman, who does not bear, and he has not done good to the widow.
^24:22 He has dragged down the strong in his strength, and when he has stood, he will not trust his life.
^24:23 God has given him a place of repentance, and he abuses it unto pride. For his eyes are upon his ways;
^24:24 they have been lifted up for a little while and will not subsist. And they will be humbled like all things and taken away, and like the tops of ears of grain they will be crushed.
^24:25 But if it is not so, who can accuse me of having lied and place my words before God?

345. Times are not hidden from the Almighty, etc. In the preceding chapter Job showed that he was not punished because of malice, as Eliphaz had asserted; but now he wishes to make manifest that he does not think God has no care for human affairs, as Eliphaz charged him. Now it must be considered that some held that God does not have knowledge and care of human affairs because of his distance from us: for they believed that, just as because of this distance we cannot know him, so neither can he know us. But he first excludes this, saying: Times are not hidden from the Almighty, as if to say: although the Almighty is outside the changeability of times, nevertheless he knows the course of times; but those who are in time know him in such a way that nevertheless they cannot comprehend the mode of his eternity, whence he adds: but those who know him, that is, temporal men having some knowledge of him, either by natural knowledge or through faith or by some greater illumination of wisdom, are ignorant of his days, that is, they cannot comprehend the mode of his eternity.

346. And because he had said that the course of temporal things is not unknown to God, he consequently shows how he judges temporal things, setting forth first the various faults of men. Some of them fraudulently inflict harms upon others, whence he says: Some, namely, among men, have moved boundaries, secretly changing the borders of possessions, and they have done similar things with animals that are pastured in flocks, whence he adds: they have plundered, namely, secretly, flocks, namely, those of others, and pastured them, so that they might thus seem to be theirs. And he exaggerates their fault from the condition of the persons upon whom they inflict harms: for men are accustomed to have compassion on orphans because of the deficiency of age and the lack of the support of parents, and against this he says: They have driven away the donkey of orphans, that is, they made it wander off so that they might seize it, not having compassion on the orphan. Similarly also, men are accustomed to have compassion on widows because of the frailty of their sex and because they are deprived of the solace of husbands; but against this he adds: and taken away the ox of the widow as a pledge, burdening her as though under some appearance of justice. Men are also accustomed to have compassion on the poor, who lack the support of riches, and against this he adds: They have overturned the way of the poor, that is, they have taken away from them the means of procuring what is necessary for themselves, by troubling them in many ways. Men are also accustomed to desist from harming those who are not accustomed to harm others but live pleasantly among others, and against this he adds: and have oppressed together the meek of the earth, who, namely, knew neither how to provoke nor how to be provoked by others.

347. But there are some who harm others not fraudulently, like the aforesaid, but by manifest violence; they break forth to do evils as though held by no discipline of law. Concerning them he adds: Others, like wild asses in the desert, that is, wild asses not subject to the service of men, go forth to their work, namely, to robbery, to which they diligently attend as to their own proper work, whence he adds: and, keeping watch for plunder, namely, to seize it, prepare bread for their children, namely, their own, from the plunder seized. Then he determines the kind of plunder, adding: They reap a field not their own, namely, gathering the harvests of others by violence, and they harvest the vineyard of him whom they have oppressed by force, because, namely, they first oppress someone so that they may seize his goods more freely. Nor do they take away only exterior goods by violence, but even those that have already been assumed for the use of cherishing the body, whence he adds: They send men away naked, that is, they leave nothing to them, taking away their garments. And to exaggerate the fault of this robbery more, he adds the afflictions that they suffer from nakedness, whence he says: from those who have no covering in the cold;

for it would be tolerable in some way if they could relieve their nakedness from some other source. Nor are garments necessary only for warmth against the cold, but also as a covering against rain; hence those stripped naked by robbers must not only be struck by cold, but also drenched with rain. And this is what he adds: whom the rains of the mountains drench; for men are accustomed to flee to mountainous places, as to places more fortified, out of fear of robbers or enemies, where, because of the coldness of the air, rains are both more frequent and more severe, especially for naked men. But some remedy of any sort for nakedness exists if one who does not have the covering of garments at least does not lack the covering of a house; but against this he adds: and, having no covering, namely, of garment or of house, they embrace the stones, that is, they hide themselves in caves of stones, which are found in mountainous places.

348. Further, he exaggerates their fault from the condition of the miserable persons whom they burden, whence he adds: They have used violence, plundering orphans, who, namely, were rather to be sustained, and they have stripped the poor common people, whom, namely, they ought rather to have helped. Now it would be tolerable in some way if they at least wished to take away from those who had sufficiency; and therefore, for a greater exaggeration of their iniquities, he adds: from the naked, that is, those not having garments, and from those walking without clothing, that is, because of extreme necessity even going forth naked into public without garments, which pertains to great poverty of clothing; and to show that they also suffer want in food, he adds: and hungering. But they cannot take away anything great from these, yet they do not fear to snatch away from them the little that they have, whence he adds: they have taken away the ears of grain, as if to say: they have not taken away from them a harvest, which they do not have, but a few ears of grain that they had gathered for themselves.

And if perhaps they seem to abound in something, they take it away, not weighing how great a want they suffer in other things, whence he adds: Among their heaps, namely, of grain, they have rested at midday, that is, they rested at midday as though luxuriating in the goods of those who, having trodden the winepresses, thirst, that is, who immediately after the vintage have little wine. Nor do they strip men only in exterior things, but they also harm them in their persons, whence he adds: From the cities they have made men groan, because, namely, when certain persons are harmed, many of the citizens are troubled; and those who are harmed themselves complain, whence he adds: and the souls of those beaten will cry out, and God, from whom, namely, the things that are done in time are not hidden, does not allow it to go unavenged, which, namely, would not be so if he did not have providence over human affairs.

349. But the reason why God does not allow this to go unavenged he shows from the fact that they sin not through ignorance but through malice, from which they hate wisdom, which reproves their sins; whence he adds: They were rebellious against the light, namely, acting deliberately against what the light of reason dictates to them. But just as wisdom anticipates those who desire her, so she flees from those who resist her, whence he adds: they did not know its ways, that is, having their sense depraved through malice, they could not know the processes of wisdom; or they did not know, that is, they did not approve nor wish to experience the commandments of wisdom. And he demonstrates their impenitence, adding: nor did they return by its paths; for those return by the path of wisdom who, even if by sinning they have been rebellious against wisdom, nevertheless return to wisdom by repenting.

350. But as a sign that they oppose the spiritual light of wisdom, he brings in the fact that they also detest exterior light, loving darkness, according to what is said in John 3:20: Everyone who acts wickedly hates the light; whence here also there is added: At first light, that is, while darkness still remains, the murderer rises and kills the needy and the poor, because, namely, at that hour men do not yet commonly go along the way, but some poor men, led by necessity, anticipate the time of work, and robbers lie in wait for them on the way. But in order to snatch something secretly from houses, they need deeper darkness, whence he adds: but by night he will be like a thief, namely, plundering houses, which it would not be safe for him to do at first light, because then men begin to wake. He shows the same in the adulterer, adding: The eye of the adulterer, who, namely, lies in wait for another’s bed, watches for darkness, so that he may not be detected, whence he adds: saying: No eye will see me, that is, with this purpose he watches for darkness, lest he be seen by anyone’s eye; and as though the concealment of night were not enough for him, he still assumes other arts of concealment, whence he adds: and he will cover his face, namely, by some change of appearance. And just as he watches for darkness in order to begin the work, so also he carries out the work in darkness, whence he adds: In the darkness they dig through houses, namely, removing obstacles by whatever fraud or violence, as they had agreed for themselves by day, namely, the adulterer and the adulteress, and they have not known the light, that is, they have rejected it in the whole execution of their wicked work;

if suddenly, as though unexpectedly, because the time seems brief to them while they are engaged in carnal delight, the dawn appears, which is the beginning of daylight, they think it the shadow of death, that is, they regard it as hateful like the shadow of death, since they see that they can no longer prolong their wanton acts.

Now men are accustomed to be hindered from their works in two ways:

in one way, when they do not foresee the outcome of the matter; in another way, when they have weak support in their purpose. But adulterers, who are led by concupiscence, act in the opposite way: first, indeed, they inconsiderately cast themselves into dangers although they do not know what will follow, and to signify this he says: and thus in darkness, that is, in doubtful and obscure things, as in light, that is, in manifest things, they walk, that is, they proceed;

second, from a slight and fragile thing they take great confidence, whence he adds: he is light, namely, the adulterer, upon the face of the water, as if to say: he is moved so lightly that it seems to him he can pass through soft things, such as water, in order to pursue his purpose. Or, according to the letter, what he says, thus in darkness as in light they walk, can be referred to this: that each of them, namely, the adulterer and the adulteress, loves to do his works in darkness; but what he adds, he is light upon the face of the water, refers especially to the adulterer, to whom, because of the impulse of concupiscence, it seems that even over water, that is, over any difficulty or adversity whatsoever, he can pass lightly so that he may arrive at the enjoyment of the thing desired.

351. Therefore, having recounted the different kinds of sins, he adds concerning punishment, and first indeed with respect to the punishment of the present life when he adds: Let his portion on the earth be cursed. That seems to be each one’s portion which he desires as his chief good; but the sinner establishes his ultimate end in earthly things as in his portion, according to that of Wisdom: This is our portion and this is our lot, which indeed is cursed because the goods of this world, which he uses badly, are turned into evil for him. And he makes this manifest, adding: and let him not walk by the way of the vineyards; for the ways of vineyards are usually shady and consequently temperate; vineyards also require a temperate place, for in places that are too cold they are destroyed by ice, and in places that are too hot they are burned by heat. Therefore the impious man does not walk by the way of the vineyards, because he does not use the things of this world moderately, but sometimes declines to one extreme and sometimes to the other, and with respect to this he adds: let him pass from the waters of snow to excessive heat, as though he passes from a contrary vice into its contrary, because he does not remain in the mean of virtue. And this punishment follows all the wicked, because a disordered soul is its own punishment, as Augustine says in Book I of the Confessions.

352. Then he sets down the punishment that will be after death when he adds: and his sin even to the lower regions, as if to say: not only is his portion cursed on earth while he uses the things of the world inordinately, but also for this he will suffer punishments in Hell; and to these punishments what he had said, from the waters of snow, etc., can also be referred, because in Hell there will be no tempering. And lest someone believe that those punishments are to be ended by God’s mercy, he adds: let mercy forget him, namely, the sinner damned in Hell, mercy, namely, that of God, so that he may never be freed from there. But what that punishment is like he shows, adding: let his sweetness be the worm, that is, the delight of sin will be turned for him into a worm, that is, into remorse of conscience, of which it is said in the last chapter of Isaiah: their worm shall not die; whence also, concerning the endlessness of this punishment, he adds: let him not be in remembrance, that is, let him be so totally abandoned by God without the remedy of liberation as if he had forgotten him. And he sets down a likeness when he adds: but let him be crushed like an unfruitful tree; for the tree that does not bring forth good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire, as is said in Matthew 3:10, but a fruitful branch is cut back so that it may be cleansed, according to John 16: Every branch that bears fruit he will cleanse, so that it may bear more fruit; therefore the impious are punished unto extermination, but the just unto advancement.

353. But why he is compared to an unfruitful tree he makes manifest from two things:

first indeed because he consumed his goods on useless things, whence he says: For he has fed the barren woman, who does not bear; and he is speaking of one who has consumed his goods on useless things, in the likeness of one who uselessly nourishes a barren wife;

second, because he did not come to the aid of those in need, which could have been fruitful for him, whence he adds: and he has not done good to the widow, signifying by the widow all those in need. Nor was he only unfruitful, but he was also harmful, like a tree bringing forth poisonous fruits, whence he adds: He has dragged down the strong in his strength, that is, he used his power not to assist the oppressed but rather to oppress the strong. And the fact that he harms others redounds also to his own harm, because, namely, he cannot lead a secure life within himself, fearing to be harmed by those whom he had harmed, whence he adds: and when he has stood, that is, when he has suffered nothing adverse, he will not trust his life, that is, he will not be secure about his life, according to what Eliphaz said above in 15:21: The sound of terror is always in his ears, and when there is peace, he always suspects snares.

354. But he assigns the reason why he is to be punished without mercy from the fact that he did not wish to make use of God’s mercy while he could, whence he adds: God has given him a place of repentance, namely, by delaying punishment, and this is the reason why he was permitted to live for some time in prosperity; but what God offered him for good he perverted into evil, whence he adds: and he abuses it unto pride, not attributing to divine mercy the fact that after sin he is not punished at once, but taking from this the boldness to sin even to contempt of God. And although the sinner seeks darkness in order to sin, nevertheless he cannot bring it about that he is not seen, whence he adds: for his eyes, namely, God’s, are upon his ways, that is, they consider his courses, although he walks in darkness.

And from this it is that they have been lifted up for a little while, that is, to some earthly and perishable sublimity, God giving them a place of repentance, and they will not subsist, namely, in the end, because they abuse God’s mercy unto pride. And he applies a likeness of this matter: for all things that are generated in time grow for a determined time and afterward begin to be cast down and finally are totally destroyed, and so it happens with the impious, whence he adds: and they will be humbled like all things, namely, those things that grow in time, and they will be taken away, namely, totally, when they have reached the highest point; and he applies a likeness, adding: and like the tops of ears of grain they will be crushed. For grains are not crushed while they are in the grass and growing, but when they have already arrived at perfect maturity; and similarly the impious are not punished by God at once, but when they have reached the highest point according to the measure foreseen by God. Now he brought this in to show that the fact that the impious are not punished temporally but lead a prosperous life does not happen from a defect of divine providence, but from the fact that God delays punishment until the fitting time. And thus it is clear that what Eliphaz had slanderously charged against him, concerning the denial of divine providence, is false; whence he adds: But if it is not so, as I have foretold concerning the punishment of the wicked, as you think, believing that a man is always punished in this life for sins, who can accuse me of having lied, as though, namely, I deny divine providence, and place my words before God, that is, turn my words into an accusation before God, as though they were spoken against his providence?