Job 24 5

Job 24:5 kjv

Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.

Job 24:5 nkjv

Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, They go out to their work, searching for food. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.

Job 24:5 niv

Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labor of foraging food; the wasteland provides food for their children.

Job 24:5 esv

Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert the poor go out to their toil, seeking game; the wasteland yields food for their children.

Job 24:5 nlt

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.

Job 24 verses

Job 24 5 Meaning

Job 24:5 depicts the deplorable state of the impoverished and desolate, forced to wander into the wilderness as if by fate or necessity, constantly searching for sustenance. They are compared to wild donkeys in the desert, intensely focused on finding food, highlighting their extreme deprivation and the harsh realities of their existence. This verse emphasizes their destitution and desperate struggle for survival, living a life of perpetual hardship in desolate lands where even the children must forage.

Job 24 5 Context

Job chapter 24 is part of Job's final discourse in the book, where he challenges the conventional wisdom of his friends who argue that suffering is always a direct result of sin. In this chapter, Job observes the widespread prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous and the poor. He describes specific examples of injustice that go unpunished, highlighting the seemingly inverted moral order of the world. Verse 5 illustrates the extreme condition of those dispossessed and without means, forced into a harsh existence. This particular verse deepens Job's argument that divine justice is not immediately or clearly evident in the visible world, as he paints a picture of intense suffering among the innocent and marginalized. Historically, ancient Near Eastern societies, while having codes to protect the vulnerable, often saw the poor exploited, especially by the powerful who could manipulate the legal system. Job's words lament this systemic failure and perceived divine inaction.

Job 24 5 Word analysis

• Behold (הֵן - hēn): An interjection signaling attention, emphasizing the severity and undeniable nature of the condition described. It draws the listener's focus to a profound truth.
• like wild donkeys (כִּפְּרָאִים - kiprâ'îm): "Wild donkeys" (פֶּרֶא - pere') refers to swift, untamable animals known for their independence and adaptation to desolate environments. The prefix "כִּ-" (ki-) means "like" or "as." This simile paints a vivid picture of these people's desperate freedom and unconstrained existence, not by choice but by necessity.
• in the desert (בַּמִּדְבָּר - bammiḏbār): "Desert" (מִדְבָּר - midbār) is a common biblical term for wilderness or steppe. It implies a harsh, arid, and uninhabited land, devoid of settled life and cultivated resources. This signifies their isolation and extreme lack.
• they go forth (יָצְאוּ - yāṣ’û): Literally "they go out" or "they emerge." It suggests an outward movement, not of choice or exploration, but a driven departure from any semblance of security into the unknown and dangerous. It conveys a compelled action.
• to their work (לְפָעֳלָם - ləfā‘olām): "Work" (פֹּעַל - po‘al) refers to action or deed, here implying their daily activity or means of survival. This "work" is not productive labor for society, but survival itself – an incessant hunt for food in an unproductive landscape.
• rising early for prey (מְשַׁחֲרֵי - məšaḥarê - for those who seek early / טֶרֶף - ṭerep̄ - prey):
  • rising early (מְשַׁחֲרֵי - məšaḥarê): Derived from the root שׁחר (shachar), meaning "to seek diligently" or "to rise early." It signifies an intense, urgent, and ceaseless quest from dawn. It highlights the exhausting and consuming nature of their pursuit.
  • for prey (טֶרֶף - ṭerep̄): Refers to what is torn or hunted, food acquired through foraging or violent means. It underscores the primitive and precarious nature of their sustenance, like a predator hunting.
• food for them (לָהֶם - lāhem): A simple pronoun and preposition, "for them." It clarifies that this arduous, dangerous activity is solely for their basic nutritional needs.
• for their children (לָהֶם - lāhem - lit. "to them", also read in context for their little ones / צֹה - ṣoh - small ones, children): The MT has "lāhem" (for them), but many versions and commentaries understand this to imply the provision is for their families, including their "little ones" (צֹה - ṣoh), meaning young, tender, vulnerable. It extends the struggle to innocent dependents. This emphasizes the desperation: even the children are impacted, perhaps forced to participate in the arduous search.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert: This striking simile establishes the core image. The "wild donkeys" represent uncontrolled, driven creatures, constantly moving. The "desert" sets the scene of extreme deprivation and isolation, where survival is a daily struggle.
• they go forth to their work: "Work" here is not settled labor but the nomadic, endless toil of seeking provision. "Go forth" conveys a constant state of migration, forced by the emptiness of their environment. It signifies their total homelessness.
• rising early for prey, food for them, for their children: This phrase expands on the "work." It's an unrelenting pursuit of minimal sustenance, beginning at dawn. The "prey" suggests not cultivated crops, but what little can be found or caught in the desolate land. The explicit mention of "children" adds pathos and underscores the harshness—this isn't just self-preservation, but the survival of the next generation, under brutal conditions. This highlights the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

Job 24 5 Bonus section

The imagery of the "wild donkey" (פֶּרֶא - pere') is deeply embedded in ancient Near Eastern thought, often signifying untamed freedom but also loneliness and a lack of rootedness. Ishmael is prophesied to be "a wild donkey of a man" (Gen 16:12), highlighting his independent, combative, and nomadic nature. This resonance suggests that those Job describes are outcasts, marginalized, and fiercely independent, not by choice, but due to circumstances forcing them into an almost animalistic struggle for existence. This passage also serves as an indictment of human societal structures that allow such extreme poverty to persist, implying a deep failure of communal care and justice among men, even if Job is directly questioning divine justice. The contrast between the rich who "remove landmarks" (Job 24:2) and these suffering poor suggests a deliberate displacement.

Job 24 5 Commentary

Job 24:5 profoundly describes the ultimate destitution and relentless struggle for survival among those stripped of their land and means. Job uses the potent metaphor of wild donkeys, which symbolize unbridled wildness, tenacity, and a life led outside societal structures, to illustrate the lot of the dispossessed. These individuals are not seeking comfort or prosperity; their entire existence revolves around a dawn-to-dusk "work" that is merely the desperate hunt for basic food. The wilderness is not a chosen habitat but a forced one, yielding only precarious "prey" as sustenance. The mention of "children" heightens the tragedy, emphasizing the systemic and intergenerational nature of this brutal reality, where the most vulnerable are condemned to an arduous existence without rest or hope of security. Job presents this as a disturbing counter-evidence to the claim that God always punishes the wicked and blesses the righteous in this life. The implication is that divine justice often seems absent for these sufferers.