Job 24:12

Easy-to-Read Version

In the city you can hear the sad sounds of dying people. Those who are hurt cry out for help, but God does not listen.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
From the city, men groan;the mortally wounded cry for help,yet God pays no attention to this crime.

Hebrew Names Version
From out of the populous city, men groan. The soul of the wounded cries out, Yet God doesn't regard the folly.

King James Version
Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.

English Standard Version
From out of the city the dying groan, and the soul of the wounded cries for help; yet God charges no one with wrong.

New Century Version
Dying people groan in the city, and the injured cry out for help, but God accuses no one of doing wrong.

New English Translation
From the city the dying groan, and the wounded cry out for help, but God charges no one with wrongdoing.

Amplified Bible
"From the [populous and crowded] city men groan, And the souls of the wounded cry out for help; Yet God [seemingly] does not pay attention to the wrong [done to them].

New American Standard Bible
"From the city people groan, And the souls of the wounded cry for help; Yet God does not pay attention to the offensiveness.

World English Bible
From out of the populous city, men groan. The soul of the wounded cries out, Yet God doesn't regard the folly.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Men cry out of the citie, and the soules of the slayne cry out: yet God doth not charge them with follie.

Legacy Standard Bible
From the city men groan,And the souls of the wounded cry out;Yet God does not pay attention to such offense.

Berean Standard Bible
From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.

Contemporary English Version
And along the city streets, the wounded and dying cry out, yet God does nothing.

Complete Jewish Bible
Men are groaning in the city, the mortally wounded are crying for help, yet God finds nothing amiss!

Darby Translation
Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out; and +God imputeth not the impiety.

George Lamsa Translation
From the midst of the city the oppressed groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out; yet God does not accept their prayer.

Good News Translation
In the cities the wounded and dying cry out, but God ignores their prayers.

Lexham English Bible
From the city people groan, and the throat of the wounded cries for help; yet God does not regard it as unseemly.

Literal Translation
Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded cries for help; yet God does not charge unseemliness.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The whole cite crieth vnto the LORDE with sighinge, the soules of the slayne make their complaynte: But God destroyeth them not for all this,

American Standard Version
From out of the populous city men groan, And the soul of the wounded crieth out: Yet God regardeth not the folly.

Bible in Basic English
From the town come sounds of pain from those who are near death, and the soul of the wounded is crying out for help; but God does not take note of their prayer.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
From out of the populous city men groan, and the soul of the wounded crieth out;

King James Version (1611)
Men groane from out of the city, and the soule of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Men out of the citie crye vnto the Lord with sighing, the soules of the slayne also crye out, yet God regardeth not their complaynt.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Who have cast forth the poor from the city and their own houses, and the soul of the children has groaned aloud.

English Revised Version
From out of the populous city men groan, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God imputeth it not for folly.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thei maden men of citees to weile, and the soulis of woundid men schulen crye; and God suffrith it not to go awei vnpunyschid.

Update Bible Version
From out of the populous city men groan, And the soul of the wounded cries out: Yet God does not regard the folly.

Webster's Bible Translation
Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly [to them].

New King James Version
The dying groan in the city, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not charge them with wrong.

New Living Translation
The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the wounded cry for help, yet God ignores their moaning.

New Life Bible
Men from the city cry inside themselves. The souls of those who are hurt cry out. Yet God does not listen to their prayer.

New Revised Standard
From the city the dying groan, and the throat of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Out of the city - out of the houses, they make outcry. and, the soul of the wounded, calleth for help, and, GOD, doth not regard it as foolish.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Out of the cities they have made men to groan, and the soul of the wounded hath cried out, and God doth not suffer it to pass unrevenged.

Revised Standard Version
From out of the city the dying groan, and the soul of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer.

Young's Literal Translation
Because of enmity men do groan, And the soul of pierced ones doth cry, And God doth not give praise.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"From the city men groan, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not pay attention to folly.

Contextual Overview

¹ "Why doesn't God All-Powerful set times for judgment? And why can't his followers know when those times will be? ² "People move property markers to get more of their neighbor's land. People steal flocks and lead them to other grasslands. ³ They steal a donkey that belongs to an orphan. They take a widow's cow until she pays what she owes them. They take a nursing baby from its mother. They take a poor person's child to guarantee a loan. ⁴ They force the poor to move out of their way and to get off the road. ⁵ "The poor are like wild donkeys that go out to the desert to find food. From morning to night they work to gather food for their children. ⁶ They have to work in the fields, harvesting grain. They work for the rich, gathering grapes in their vineyards. ⁷ They must sleep all night without clothes. They have no covers to protect them from the cold. ⁸ They are soaked with rain in the mountains. They stay close to the large rocks for shelter. They have no clothes, so they work naked. They carry piles of grain for others, but they go hungry. They press out olive oil and walk on grapes in the winepress, but they have nothing to drink. In the city you can hear the sad sounds of dying people. Those who are hurt cry out for help, but God does not listen. "Some people rebel against the light. They don't know what God wants. They don't live the way he wants. A murderer gets up at dawn and kills poor, helpless people. And at night he becomes a thief. A man who commits adultery waits for the night to come. He thinks, ‘No one will see me,' but still, he covers his face. When it is dark, evil people go out and break into houses. But during the day they lock themselves in their homes to avoid the light. The darkest night is their morning. They are friends with the terrors of darkness. " You say, ‘Evil people are taken away like things carried away in a flood. The land they own is cursed, so no one goes to work in their vineyards. As hot, dry weather melts away the winter snows, so the grave takes away those who have sinned. Their own mothers will forget them. Only the worms will want them. No one will remember them. They will be broken like a rotten stick! These evil people hurt women who have no children to protect them, and they refuse to help widows. By his power God removes the powerful. Even if they have a high position, they cannot be sure of their lives. They might feel safe and secure, but God is watching how they live. They might be successful for a while, but then they will be gone. Like everyone else, they will be cut down like grain.' "I swear these things are true! Who can prove that I lied? Who can show that I am wrong?" ⁹ They take a nursing baby from its mother. They take a poor person's child to guarantee a loan. They force the poor to move out of their way and to get off the road. "The poor are like wild donkeys that go out to the desert to find food. From morning to night they work to gather food for their children. They have to work in the fields, harvesting grain. They work for the rich, gathering grapes in their vineyards. They must sleep all night without clothes. They have no covers to protect them from the cold. They are soaked with rain in the mountains. They stay close to the large rocks for shelter. ¹⁰ They have no clothes, so they work naked. They carry piles of grain for others, but they go hungry.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

groan: Exodus 1:13, Exodus 1:14, Exodus 2:23, Exodus 2:24, Exodus 22:27, Judges 10:16, Psalms 12:5, Ecclesiastes 4:1, Isaiah 52:5

wounded: Psalms 69:26, Psalms 109:22

yet God: Psalms 50:21, Ecclesiastes 8:11, Ecclesiastes 8:12, Malachi 2:17, Malachi 3:15, Romans 2:4, Romans 2:5, 2 Peter 3:15

Reciprocal: Genesis 4:10 - crieth Job 34:28 - they Job 35:9 - they make Psalms 102:20 - To hear Ezekiel 30:24 - he shall Colossians 4:1 - give

Cross-References

Genesis 15:1
After all these things happened, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. God said, "Abram, don't be afraid. I will defend you and give you a great reward."

Genesis 24:7
The Lord , the God of heaven, brought me from my homeland to this place. That place was the home of my father and the home of my family, but he promised that this new land would belong to my family. May he send his angel before you so that you can choose a wife for my son.

Genesis 24:8
If the girl refuses to come with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not take my son back to that place."

Genesis 24:10
The servant took ten of Abraham's camels and left that place. The servant carried with him many different kinds of beautiful gifts. He went to Mesopotamia, to Nahor's city.

Genesis 24:11
In the evening, when the women come out to get water, he went to the water well outside the city. He made the camels kneel down at the well.

Genesis 24:16
She was very pretty. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. She went down to the well and filled her jar.

Genesis 24:17
Then the servant ran to her and said, "Please give me a little water to drink from your jar."

Genesis 24:27
He said, "Praise be to the Lord , the God of my master Abraham. The Lord has been kind and loyal to him by leading me to his own people."

Genesis 24:42
"Today I came to this well and said, ‘ Lord , God of my master Abraham, please make my trip successful.

Genesis 24:48
I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord . I praised the Lord , the God of my master Abraham. I thanked him for leading me straight to the granddaughter of my master's brother.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Men groan from out of the city,.... Because of the oppressions and injuries done to them, so that not only the poor in the country that were employed in the fields, and oliveyards, and vineyards, were used exceeding ill; but even in cities, where not only are an abundance of people, and so the outrages committed upon them, which made them groan, were done openly and publicly, with great insolence and impudence, but where also courts of judicature were held, and yet in defiance of law and justice were those evils done, see Ecclesiastes 3:16;

and the soul of the wounded crieth out; that is, the persons wounded with the sword, or any other instrument of vengeance, stabbed as they went along the public streets of the city, where they fell, these cried out vehemently as such persons do; so audacious, as well as barbarous, were these wicked men, that insulted and abused them:

yet God layeth not folly [to them]; it is for the sake of this observation that the whole above account is given of wicked men, as well as what follows; that though they are guilty of such atrocious crimes, such inhumanity, cruelty, and oppression in town and country, unheard of, unparalleled, iniquities, sins to be punished by a judge, yet are suffered of God to pass with impunity. By "folly" is meant sin, not lesser sins only, little, foolish, trifling things, but greater and grosser ones, such as before expressed; all sin is folly, being the breach of a law which is holy, just, and good, and exposes to its penalty and curse; and against God the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy; and as it is harmful and prejudicial, either to the characters, bodies, or estates of men, and especially to their immortal souls; and yet God that charges his angels with folly did not charge these men with it; that is, he seemed, in the outward dealings of his providence towards them, as if he took no notice of their sins, but connived at them, or took no account of them, and did not take any methods in his providence to show their folly, and convince them of it, nor discover it to others, and make them public examples, did not punish them, but let them go on in them without control; and this Job observes, in order to prove his point, that wicked men are not always punished in this life.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Men groan from out of the city - The evident meaning of this is, that the sorrows caused by oppression were not confined to the deserts and to solitary places; were not seen only where the wandering freebooter seized upon the traveler, or in the comparatively unfrequented places in the country where the poor were compelled to labor in the wine presses and the olive presses of others, but that they extended to cities also. In what way this oppression in cities was practiced, Job does not specify. It might be by the sudden descent upon an unsuspecting city, of hordes of freebooters, who robbed and murdered the inhabitants, and then fled, or it might be by internal oppression, as of the rich ever the poor, or of masters over their slaves. The idea which Job seems to wish to convey is, that oppression abounded. The earth was full of violence. It was in every place, in the city and the country, and yet God did not in fact come forth to meet and punish the oppressor as he deserved. There would be instances of oppression and cruelty enough occurring in all cities to justify all that Job here says, especially in ancient times, when cities were under the control of tyrants. The word which is translated “men” here is מתים mathı̂ym, which is not the usual term to denote men. This word is derived from מוּת mûth, “to die”; and hence, there may be here the notion of “mortals,” or of the “dying,” who utter these groans.

And the soul of the wounded crieth out - This expression appears as if Job referred to some acts of violence done by robbers, and perhaps the whole description is intended to apply to the sufferings caused by the sudden descent of a band of marauders upon the unsuspection and slumbering inhabitants of a city.

Yet God layeth not folly to them - The word rendered “folly” תפלה tı̂phlâh means “folly”; and thence also wickedness. If this reading is to be retained, the passage means that God does not lay to heart, that is, does not regard their folly or wickedness. He suffers it to pass without punishing it; compare Acts 17:30. But the same word, by a change of the points, תפלה t^ephı̂llâh, means “prayer;” and many have supposed that it means, that God does not regard the prayer or cry of those who are thus oppressed. This, in itself, would make good sense, but the former rendering agrees better with the connection. The object of Job is not to show that God does not regard the cry of the afflicted, but that he does not interpose to punish those who are tyrants and oppressors.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 24:12. Men groan from out of the city — This is a new paragraph. After having shown the oppressions carried on in the country, he takes a view of those carried on in the town. Here the miseries are too numerous to be detailed. The poor in such places are often in the most wretched state; they are not only badly fed, and miserably clothed, but also most unwholesomely lodged. I was once appointed with a benevolent gentleman, J. S., Esq., to visit a district in St. Giles's London, to know the real state of the poor. We took the district in House Row, and found each dwelling full of people, dirt, and wretchedness. Neither old nor young had the appearance of health: some were sick, and others lying dead, in the same place! Several beds, if they might be called such, on the floor in the same apartment; and, in one single house, sixty souls! These were groaning under various evils; and the soul of the wounded, wounded in spirit, and afflicted in body, cried out to God and man for help! It would have required no subtle investigation to have traced all these miseries to the doors, the hands, the lips, and the hearts, of ruthless landlords; or to oppressive systems of public expenditure in the support of ruinous wars, and the stagnation of trade and destruction of commerce occasioned by them: to which must be added the enormous taxation to meet this expenditure.

Yet God layeth not folly to them. — He does not impute their calamities to their own folly. Or, according to the Vulgate, Et Deus inultum abire non patitur; "And God will not leave (these disorders) unpunished." But the Hebrew may be translated And God doth not attend to their prayers. Job's object was to show, in opposition to the mistaken doctrine of his friends, that God did not hastily punish every evil work, nor reward every good one. That vice often went long unpunished, and virtue unrewarded; and that we must not judge of a man's state either by his prosperity or adversity. Therefore, there might be cases in which the innocent oppressed poor were crying to God for a redress of their grievances, and were not immediately heard; and in which their oppressors were faring sumptuously every day, without any apparent mark of the Divine displeasure. These sentiments occur frequently.