Job 24 3

Job 24:3 kjv

They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.

Job 24:3 nkjv

They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; They take the widow's ox as a pledge.

Job 24:3 niv

They drive away the orphan's donkey and take the widow's ox in pledge.

Job 24:3 esv

They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; they take the widow's ox for a pledge.

Job 24:3 nlt

They take the orphan's donkey
and demand the widow's ox as security for a loan.

Job 24 verses

Job 24 3 Meaning

Job 24:3 vividly depicts the callous acts of oppressors who exploit the most vulnerable in society. It highlights the theft and unlawful seizure of essential assets from the fatherless and the widow, leaving them destitute and unable to sustain themselves. The actions described are a direct violation of divinely established laws and moral principles regarding the care of the poor and defenseless. Job uses these examples to question why such wicked deeds often go unpunished by God in his observable lifetime, forming a core part of his challenging argument against the traditional understanding of divine justice.

Job 24 3 Context

Job chapter 24 is part of Job’s third and final response to his friends (chapters 21-27). Throughout this discourse, Job continues to challenge the simplistic theological premise that all suffering is a direct result of sin, and conversely, that the wicked always suffer immediately and overtly for their deeds. In Job 24, Job shifts his argument from observing the prosperity of the wicked (as in Job 21) to detailing specific acts of gross injustice committed by the wicked. He describes various forms of exploitation, violence, and theft that plague society, particularly targeting the defenseless. Verse 3 serves as a concrete example of such depravity, illustrating how the unrighteous disregard divinely ordained protections for the fatherless and the widow. Job's exasperation stems from the apparent lack of divine intervention, leading him to lament that God seems indifferent to or removed from the rampant injustices on earth, allowing evildoers to go unpunished, at least in the short term. The historical-cultural context for the original audience, living in an ancient Near Eastern agrarian society, would have immediately understood the catastrophic impact of losing a donkey or an ox. These animals were not mere possessions but were essential tools for farming, transportation, and indeed, survival for poor families. Taking them meant complete destitution and starvation.

Job 24 3 Word analysis

• They drive away (נהגו, nahagu): This Hebrew verb denotes driving, leading, or carrying off, often with force or without permission. Here, it implies forceful dispossession, akin to stealing or rustling. It emphasizes the lack of consent from the rightful owner and the perpetrator's aggressive action.
• the donkey (חֲמוֹר, chamor): A donkey was an invaluable asset in ancient Israel, particularly for the poor. It served as a beast of burden for transport, agricultural work (plowing, threshing), and even sometimes for riding. For a fatherless household, the loss of a donkey could mean the complete cessation of their means of income and sustenance, rendering them unable to cultivate fields, transport goods, or even carry water.
• of the fatherless (יְתוֹמִים, yetomim): Refers to orphans or, more broadly, those who have lost their fathers and are therefore without the primary protector and provider in the patriarchal society. The Mosaic Law consistently places the fatherless among the most vulnerable groups (alongside widows and sojourners) and mandates their protection, demonstrating God's special care for them. Their exploitation is a severe sin against God's commanded justice.
• They take (יַחְבְּלוּ, yaḥbelu): This verb means "to take as a pledge," or "to distrain." While pledging was a common practice for loans, there were strict laws against taking essential items as pledges, especially from the poor (Deut. 24:6, 17). To "take" an ox, in this context, suggests an exploitative pledge that is either illegal, taken with no intention of returning, or unjustly enforced, essentially robbing the owner of their livelihood under the guise of a pledge.
• the widow's (אַלְמָנָה, ’almanah): Widows, like the fatherless, were a demographic extremely susceptible to exploitation. Without a husband, a widow's legal and economic standing was precarious, often dependent on extended family or the community's charity. Divine law frequently linked the fatherless and the widow as subjects of special protection. The act of taking her ox as a pledge implies a grave violation of compassion and legal righteousness.
• ox (שׁוֹר, shor): Similar to the donkey, the ox was fundamental for agricultural sustenance, primarily for plowing. For a family, and especially a widow, an ox was a primary source of economic stability, enabling them to farm, providing food, and a means to earn income. Taking an ox as a pledge was explicitly forbidden by law when it meant depriving someone of their means of survival (Deut. 24:6), further emphasizing the extreme cruelty and illegality of the oppressors' actions.

Job 24 3 Bonus section

The specific items mentioned—a donkey and an ox—are crucial because they represent "tools for living." In agrarian societies, these animals were not surplus goods; they were indispensable capital necessary for planting, harvesting, transportation, and daily survival. To "drive away" a donkey meant outright theft, while to "take an ox as a pledge" implies a deceptive or coercive maneuver that functionally stripped a widow of her capacity to sustain herself, likely a breach of the spirit, if not the letter, of the pledge laws (Deut. 24:6, 17). This act goes beyond simple property theft; it is a crime against livelihood itself, a form of societal violence against those incapable of defense or retaliation. This verse powerfully contributes to Job’s argument that evil flourishes overtly and is a common occurrence, directly challenging the simplistic "deeds-consequence" theology advocated by his friends.

Job 24 3 Commentary

Job 24:3 serves as a stark example within Job's lament concerning divine justice. It highlights that the wicked not only exist but actively engage in oppressive practices against the most helpless, openly defying God's expressed care for the vulnerable, yet they often appear to escape immediate consequences. This verse powerfully underscores the pervasiveness of human depravity and the economic injustices prevalent in society, challenging the tidy theology of Job's friends. It raises a crucial question about the timing and nature of God's justice—if God is just and sovereign, why does He permit such grievous exploitation of the fatherless and the widow, essential for the welfare of an agrarian society, to occur with seeming impunity? The act of driving away a donkey and taking an ox as a pledge from the truly destitute violates deeply held Mosaic principles of charity, compassion, and fairness. It reveals a societal breakdown where the strong exploit the weak, a pattern of unrighteousness that Job asserts goes unchecked by visible divine retribution in this life. This statement deepens Job's perplexing question about God's ways, contrasting human expectation of immediate justice with the observed reality.