He devours the barren who don’t bear. He shows no kindness to the widow.
Parallel translations
- KJV He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.
- BSB They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
- NKJV For he preys on the barren who do not bear, And does no good for the widow.
- NASB “He wrongs the infertile woman, And does no good for the widow.
- NLT They cheat the woman who has no son to help her. They refuse to help the needy widow.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The wicked man exploits the barren woman and shows no kindness to the widow. It matters because cruelty to the defenseless marks his character.
Overview
Job portrays the oppressor preying on the childless woman who has no protector and refusing mercy to the widow. Such heartlessness toward the vulnerable is the signature of the godless. God's tender concern for the widow and the barren, fulfilled in the compassion of Christ, stands in judgment over such men.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Job 22:9You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
- Job 29:13the blessing of him who was ready to perish came on me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
- 1 Sam 1:6–7Her rival provoked her severely, to irritate her, because Yahweh had shut up her womb.
- Job 31:16–18“If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
- Job 24:3They drive away the donkey of the fatherless, and they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 24:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.