The Meaning of Job 24:5 Explained

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.

YLT: Lo, wild asses in a wilderness, They have gone out about their work, Seeking early for prey, A mixture for himself -- food for young ones.

Darby: Lo, as wild asses in the desert, they go forth to their work, seeking early for the prey: the wilderness yieldeth them food for their children.

ASV: Behold, as wild asses in the desert They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; The wilderness yieldeth them bread for their children.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Job 24:5 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 24:5 mean?

Indeed [like] wild donkeys in the desert they go out to their work searching for food the wilderness [yields] for them food [and] for [their] children
הֵ֤ן פְּרָאִ֨ים ׀ בַּֽמִּדְבָּ֗ר יָצְא֣וּ בְּ֭פָעֳלָם מְשַׁחֲרֵ֣י לַטָּ֑רֶף עֲרָבָ֥ה ל֥וֹ לֶ֝֗חֶם לַנְּעָרִֽים

הֵ֤ן  Indeed 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הֵן  
Sense: behold, lo, though hypothetical part.
פְּרָאִ֨ים ׀  [like]  wild  donkeys 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: פֶּרֶא 
Sense: wild ass.
בַּֽמִּדְבָּ֗ר  in  the  desert 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִדְבָּר 
Sense: wilderness.
יָצְא֣וּ  they  go  out 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
בְּ֭פָעֳלָם  to  their  work 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: פֹּעַל  
Sense: work, deed, doing.
מְשַׁחֲרֵ֣י  searching 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: שָׁחַר  
Sense: to seek, seek early or earnestly, look early or diligently for.
לַטָּ֑רֶף  for  food 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: טֶרֶף  
Sense: prey, food, leaf.
עֲרָבָ֥ה  the  wilderness  [yields] 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֲרָבָה  
Sense: desert plain, steppe, desert, wilderness.
ל֥וֹ  for  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
לֶ֝֗חֶם  food 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
לַנְּעָרִֽים  [and]  for  [their]  children 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: נַעַר  
Sense: a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer.