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Thursday, July 17th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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New Living Translation

Job 24:12

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

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God Continued...;   Homicide;   Wicked (People);  

Dictionaries:

- Holman Bible Dictionary - Justice;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Fool;   Groan;   Lay;  

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.
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.
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 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 the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment? Why must the godly wait for him in vain? 2 Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers. They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures. 3 They take the orphan's donkey and demand the widow's ox as security for a loan. 4 The poor are pushed off the path; the needy must hide together for safety. 5 Like wild donkeys in the wilderness, the poor must spend all their time looking for food, searching even in the desert for food for their children. 6 They harvest a field they do not own, and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked. 7 All night they lie naked in the cold, without clothing or covering. 8 They are soaked by mountain showers, and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home. 9 "The wicked snatch a widow's child from her breast, taking the baby as security for a loan. 10 The poor must go about naked, without any clothing. They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving.

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
Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, "Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great."
Genesis 24:7
For the Lord , the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.
Genesis 24:8
If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there."
Genesis 24:10
Then he loaded ten of Abraham's camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham's brother Nahor had settled.
Genesis 24:11
He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.
Genesis 24:16
Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again.
Genesis 24:17
Running over to her, the servant said, "Please give me a little drink of water from your jug."
Genesis 24:27
"Praise the Lord , the God of my master, Abraham," he said. "The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master's relatives."
Genesis 24:42
"So today when I came to the spring, I prayed this prayer: ‘O Lord , God of my master, Abraham, please give me success on this mission.
Genesis 24:48
"Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord . I praised the Lord , the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master's niece to be his son's wife.

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 tephı̂llâh, 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.


 
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