Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert, they go out to their work, seeking diligently for food. The wilderness yields them bread for their children.
Parallel Translations
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Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert, they go out to their work, seeking diligently for food. The wilderness yields them bread for their children.
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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.
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Behold, as wild asses in the wilderness they go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; the desert yieldeth them bread for their children.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Job 24:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 5:5 whose harvest the hungry eats up, and take it even out of the thorns. The snare gapes for their substance.
- Job 39:5-7 “Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey, whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place? He scorns the tumult of the city, neither does he hear the shouting of the driver.
- Psalms 104:23 Man goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening.
- Micah 2:1 Woe to those who devise iniquity and work evil on their beds! When the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.
- Genesis 16:12 He will be like a wild donkey among men. His hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. He will live opposed to all of his brothers.”
- Genesis 27:40 You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. It will happen, when you will break loose, that you will shake his yoke from off your neck.”
- Job 12:6 The tents of robbers prosper. Those who provoke God are secure, who carry their god in their hands.
- Job 24:14 The murderer rises with the light. He kills the poor and needy. In the night he is like a thief.
- Proverbs 4:16 For they don’t sleep unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away, unless they make someone fall.
- Jeremiah 2:24 a wild donkey used to the wilderness, that sniffs the wind in her craving. When she is in heat, who can turn her away? All those who seek her will not weary themselves. In her month, they will find her.
- Hosea 7:6 For they have prepared their heart like an oven, while they lie in wait. Their baker sleeps all the night. In the morning it burns as a flaming fire.
- Hosea 8:9 For they have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has hired lovers for himself.
- Zephaniah 3:3 Her princes within her are roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves. They leave nothing until the next day.
- John 18:28 They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. It was early, and they themselves didn’t enter into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.
- Acts 23:12 When it was day, some of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He and his live by robbing and murdering.
He and his live by robbing and murdering.
That is, spareth diligence.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 24:5 Behold, [as] wild asses in the desert,…
Job 24:5 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.
Ver. 5. Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work] These barbarous and brutish oppressors, skilful to destroy, do live in this world as the wild ass doth in the wilderness, roving and rambling up and down for booty, Onagri inter feras sunt efferatissimi, neque unquam mansuescunt (Merc.), whereunto early in the morning they prepare and harness themselves, as if this were their trade and occupation whereby they must needs get their living. Hic labor, hoc opus, vel artificium eorum est, saith Lavater. As "man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening," Psa 104:23, so do these greedy cormorants, these evening wolves (as Micah calleth them), these spoilers "that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds: when the morning is light they practise it, because it is in the power of their hands. And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away," &c., Mic 2:1-2. Job had suffered much by the Arabian spoilers, those wild asses, who continue their old trade to this day, catching and snatching, vivitur ex rapto; neither can they be repelled or restrained by reason of their multitudes and their incredible swiftness (Fabric. in descrip. peregr. Hierosol.).
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The wilderness yieldeth food, &c.] Their pillage is their tillage, their rapine their revenue, whereby they maintain themselves and theirs; as the wild ass picks out a living in the desert. But shall they thus escape by iniquity? Have they no other ways to work? no better mediums? Never think it. "In thine anger cast down the people, O God," Psa 56:7. He will do it; for the words are prophetic as well as optative. "Treasures of wickedness profit nothing," Pro 10:2. Mammon of iniquity is the next odious name to the devil; and to the devil it will bring a man, 1Ti 6:9. English Hubertus, a covetous oppressor, is said to have made this will: I yield my goods to the king, my body to the grave, my soul to the devil. Pope Sylvester II is said to have given his soul to the devil for seven years’ enjoyment of the popedom.
And for their children] We have a profane and false proverb, Happy is that child whose father goeth to the devil. O faithful drudge! said a graceless son once of such a father, who died and left him great store of ill gotten goods.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain As wild asses; which are wild, and lawless, and…
As wild asses; which are wild, and lawless, and unteachable, and fierce, and greedy of prey, or food, which they snatch out of the goods or labours of the husbandman; in all which they are fit emblems of these men. Or, these wild men; for so this word signifies, Gen 16:12, as elsewhere wild asses. The particle as is not in the Hebrew. In the desert, which is the proper habitation of wild asses, Jer 2:24. If this be understood of the wild men, he placeth them in the desert and wilderness, either because they by their spoils and violences have destroyed or driven away the people, as is intimated, Job 24:4, and thereby turned populous places into deserts; or because such places as have but few houses and inhabitants (which are oft so called, as Gen 21:20,21; Jos 15:61,62; 1Ki 2:34; 9:15; Isa 42:11; Mat 3:1) are most fit for their robberies.
Go they; either,
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1. The poor, whom they spoiled and drove away from their own former habitations into deserts, where they hid themselves, and wrought hard for a subsistence. Or rather,
2. The oppressors, who are more fitly compared to wild asses, and more truly said to seek for prey, than those poor oppressed persons mentioned Job 24:4, and of whom he speaks both in the foregoing and following verses.
To their work, i.e. to spoil and rob, which is their constant work and trade.
The wilderness yieldeth food for them; they are so diligent and industrious in that work, that they will fetch food for them and theirs even out of desert places, in which the owners can very hardly subsist.
For their children, or servants; for the word signifies both children and servants, even the whole family.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Behold, as wild asses in the desert,.... The word…
Behold, as wild asses in the desert,.... The word "as" is a supplement, and may be omitted, and the words be interpreted literally of wild asses, as they are by Sephorno, whose proper place is in the wilderness, to which they are used, and where their food is provided for them, and which they diligently seek for, for them and their young; and so the words may be descriptive of the place where the poor hide themselves, and of the company they are obliged to keep; but the Targum supplies the note of similitude as we do; and others (i) observe it to be wanting, and so it may respect wicked men before described, who may be compared to the wild asses of the wilderness for their folly and stupidity, man being born like a wild ass's colt, Job 11:12; and for their lust and wantonness, and for their rebellion against God and his laws, and their unteachableness. Perhaps some regard may be had to the wild Arabs that were in Job's neighbourhood, the descendants of Ishmael, called the wild man, as he is in Gen 16:12; who lived by plunder and robbery, as these here:
they go forth to their work: of thieving and stealing, robbing and plundering, as their trade, and business, and occupation of life, and as naturally and constantly as men go to their lawful employment, and as if it was one:
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rising betimes for a prey; getting up early in a morning to meet the industrious traveller on the road, and make a prey of him, rob him of what he has about him; for they cannot sleep unless they do mischief:
the wilderness yieldeth food for them, and for their children; though they are lurking in a wilderness where no sustenance is to be had, yet, by robbing everyone that passes by, they get enough for them and their families: though some understand all this of the poor, who are obliged to hide themselves from their oppressors, and go into the wilderness in droves like wild asses, and as timorous and as swift as they in fleeing; and are forced to hard service, and to rise early to earn their bread, and get sustenance for their families; and who in the main are obliged to live on berries and roots, and what a wild desert will afford; but the, word "prey" is not applicable to the pains and labours of such industrious people, wherefore the former sense is best; and besides, there seems to be one continued account of wicked men.
(i) Aben Ezra, Ben Gersom, Bar Tzemach.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Wild asses - Which are lawless, and fierce, and…
Wild asses - Which are lawless, and fierce, and greedy of prey. Desert - Which is the proper habitation of wild asses. They - The oppressors. Go - To spoil and rob.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. Rising betimes for a prey] The general…
Verse 5. Rising betimes for a prey] The general sense here seems plain enough. There are some who live a lawless roaming life: make a predatory life their employment; for this purpose, frequent the wilderness, where they seize on and appropriate whatsoever they find, and by this method they and their families are supported.
Mr. Good says: "The sense has never yet been understood by any commentator;" and hence he proposes a different division of the words, placing ערבה arabah, the desert or wilderness, in the first hemistich, thus: -
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"Rising early for the pillage of the wilderness;
The bread of themselves and of their children."
Others think that the words are spoken solely of the poor under the hand of oppression, who are driven away from their homes, and obliged to seek such support as the wilderness can afford. Such was originally the state of the Bedouins, and of the wandering Arab hordes in general: the oppression of the tyrannous governors obliged them to seek refuge in the deserts, where they still live in a roaming predatory life.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Job 24:5. Behold, as wild asses — Which are…
Job 24:5. Behold, as wild asses — Which are lawless and fierce, and greedy of prey; in the desert — Which is the proper habitation of wild asses, Jer 2:24 : they go forth to their work — These oppressors go forth to spoil and rob, which is their constant work and trade: rising betimes for the prey — Beginning their work of plunder before the poor go to their daily labour. The wilderness yieldeth food for them — They are so diligent and industrious in their wicked work, that they fetch food for themselves and families even out of desert places, in which the owners can with difficulty subsist.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Behold, as wild asses in the desert - In…
Behold, as wild asses in the desert - In regard to the wild ass, see the notes at Job 6:5. Schultens, Good, Noyes, and Wemyss, understand this, not as referring to the haughty tyrants themselves, but to the oppressed and needy wretches whom they had driven from society, and compelled to seek a precarious subsistence, like the wild ass, in the desert. They suppose that the meaning is, that these outcasts go to their daily toil seeking roots and vegetables in the desert for a subsistence, like wild animals. But it seems to me that the reference is rather to another class of wicked people: to the wandering tribes that live by plunder - who roam through the deserts, and live an unrestrained and a lawless life, like wild animals. The wild ass is distinguished for its fleetness, and the comparison here turns principally on this fact. These marauders move rapidly from place to place, make their assault suddenly and unexpectedly, and, having plundered the traveler, or the caravan, as suddenly disappear. They have no home, cultivate no land, and keep no flocks. The only objection to this interpretation is, that the wild ass is not a beast of prey. But, in reply to this, it may be said, that the comparison does not depend on that, but on the fact that they resemble those animals in their lawless habits of life; see Job 11:12, note; Job 39:5, note.
Go they forth to their work - To their employment - to wit, plunder.
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Rising betimes - Rising early. It is a custom of the Orientals everywhere to rise by break of day. In journeys, they usually rise long before day, and travel much in the night, and during the heat of the day they rest. As caravans often traveled early, plunderers would rise early, also, to meet them.
For a prey - For plunder - the business of their lives.
The wilderness - The desert, for so the word wilderness is used in the Scriptures; see Isa 35:1, note; Mat 3:1, note.
Yieldeth food - To wit, by plunder. They obtain subsistence for themselves and their families by plundering the caravans of the desert. The idea of Job is, that they are seen by God, and yet that they are suffered to roam at large.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Others. Hebrew, "Behold as," (Haydock) which may be explained…
Others. Hebrew, "Behold as," (Haydock) which may be explained of these oppressors, or rather of the poor, who are forced to flee before them to seek for food. (Calmet) --- The Vulgate and Septuagint seem more favourable to the former supposition. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain wild asses-- (Job 11:12). So Ishmael is called a…
wild asses-- (Job 11:12). So Ishmael is called a "wild ass-man"; Hebrew (Gen 16:12). These Bedouin robbers, with the unbridled wildness of the ass of the desert, go forth thither. Robbery is their lawless "work." The desert, which yields no food to other men, yields food for the robber and his children by the plunder of caravans.
rising betimes--In the East travelling is begun very early, before the heat comes on.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain Second strophe — Dispossessed of their homes, the poor…
Second strophe — Dispossessed of their homes, the poor are driven forth like wild animals into the desert, destitute, Job_24:5-8.
5. Behold… wild asses… desert — Job thus personifies these wretched exiles, driven away into the wilderness. The wild ass was proverbial for being untamable. It lived in great herds far from the haunts of men, and was, according to Ker Porter, of “prodigious swiftness.” See note, Job_11:12. That Job cannot, as Canon Cook thinks, mean robber hordes, is evident from the want of resemblance between them and the wild ass, which is not at all a beast of prey, but a timorous animal, whose only defence is swiftness of foot.
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Their work — That of seeking a precarious support; a meaning determined by the last clause of the verse.
For a prey — Tareph; meat, food. The same word as in Pro_31:15. The wilderness, etc. — Literally, The desert to him is food for the children. The desert yields its herbs and roots, the scantiest fare, to him the father, who, as provider, represents the family.
Their children — A stroke of tenderness; for children are the first to feel the pangs of hunger.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. The comparison to wild asses expresses their herding…
5. The comparison to wild asses expresses their herding together, their flight far from the dwellings of men, and that they find their home and sustenance in the wilderness.
go forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey] Rather, they go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food. Their “work” is explained by “seeking for food.”
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for them and for their children] Rather, food unto them for their children. The roots and herbage of the desert are the only nourishment they can find for their children; comp. ch. Job_30:3-4.
5–8. Job now directs his attention to a particular class of outcasts, giving a pathetic description of their flight from the abodes of men and their herding together like wild asses in the wilderness; their destitution, and the miseries they endure from cold and want, having only the rocks and caves to cover them, and only the roots and garbage of the desert to sustain them. The class of miserables here referred to are, no doubt, as Ewald first pointed out, the aboriginal races of the regions east of the Jordan, whose land and homes had been seized by more powerful tribes, and who had fled from the bitter oppressions to which they were subjected by their conquerors. Another detailed reference is made to them in ch. 30.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they…
Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work. Plundering bands of wicked marauders scour the desert, like troops of wild asses, going forth early to their work, and late taking rest rising betimes for a prey, and generally finding it, since the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children. They are sure to find some plunder or other ere the day is over.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Job continues speaking.
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these poor people go out to their work like wild donkeys in the wilderness, looking carefully for food
These poor people are spoken of as if they are wild donkeys who do not know where they will find food. AT: "these poor people go out to search for food as if they were wild donkeys in the wilderness" (See: Simile)
wild donkeys
"donkeys that no one owns or cares for"
Poor people reap in the night ... they glean grapes
These two lines describe the same thing and are used together to emphasize that these people are so hungry that they are forced to steal food at night. (See: Parallelism)
They lie naked ... they have no covering
These two lines describe the same thing and are used together to emphasize that these people do not have enough clothing to keep warm. (See: Parallelism)
translationWords
desert
Arabah
reap
glean
grape
harvest
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.