The Meaning of Job 24:4 Explained

Job 24:4

KJV: They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.

YLT: They turn aside the needy from the way, Together have hid the poor of the earth.

Darby: They turn the needy out of the way: the afflicted of the land all hide themselves.

ASV: They turn the needy out of the way: The poor of the earth all hide themselves.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

They turn  the needy  out of the way:  the poor  of the earth  hide  themselves together. 

What does Job 24:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 24:1-25 - Not Here, But Hereafter
Job laments that the times of punishment are not so explained by God, that those who know Him may see and understand His reasons. He then turns to describe the life of the ungodly, who do dark deeds with apparent impunity. A very sad catalogue of crimes follows. The oppression of the needy, the driving away of the ass of the fatherless, the taking of the widow's ox for a pledge, the frequenting of the wilderness, the plunder of caravans regardless of the claims of pity, the stealing of oil and wine from those who had labored to produce them, the murdering of the poor laboring man at the dawn, the commission of crimes at night-such are the iniquities which are described. And these crimes are still committed in so-called Christian lands. Wonderful that God should bear with us, but His long-suffering would fain lead men to repent. It is only after long forbearing and trial that He cuts down.
In his closing words, Job 24:18-21, Job quotes the opinion of his friends as to the condition of the ungodly, that they pass away swiftly as the waters, and are snapped as a branch of a tree. And, in opposition, he states his own view, Job 24:23-25, that they die in exalted positions, not by a painful and lingering death, but as corn in the maturity of the ear. This also is true. Wicked men do not always meet their deserts in this world. In the next world penalty is inevitable. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 24

1  Wickedness often goes unpunished
17  There is a secret judgment for the wicked

What do the individual words in Job 24:4 mean?

They push the needy off the road all Are forced to hide the poor of the land
יַטּ֣וּ אֶבְיוֹנִ֣ים מִדָּ֑רֶךְ יַ֥חַד חֻ֝בְּא֗וּ עֲנִיֵּי־ אָֽרֶץ

יַטּ֣וּ  They  push 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָטָה 
Sense: to stretch out, extend, spread out, pitch, turn, pervert, incline, bend, bow.
אֶבְיוֹנִ֣ים  the  needy 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֶבְיׄון  
Sense: in want, needy, chiefly poor, needy person.
מִדָּ֑רֶךְ  off  the  road 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
חֻ֝בְּא֗וּ  Are  forced  to  hide 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: חָבָא  
Sense: to withdraw, hide.
עֲנִיֵּי־  the  poor 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural construct
Root: עָנָו 
Sense: poor, humble, afflicted, meek.
אָֽרֶץ  of  the  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.