Job 24 · Verse 9

Job 24:9

They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.
Job 24:9, King James Version

Job 24:9 in other translations

BSBThe fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
WEBThere are those who pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor,
ASVThere are that pluck the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge of the poor;
YLTThey take violently away From the breast the orphan, And on the poor they lay a pledge.
DARBYThey pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor:
BBEThe child without a father is forced from its mother's breast, and they take the young children of the poor for debt.
WebsterThey pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.

What does Job 24:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 24:2-25

2-24. Instances of the wicked doing the worst deeds with seeming impunity (Job 24:2-24). Some--the wicked. landmarks--boundaries between different pastures (De 19:14; Pr 22:28).

Read the full comment on Job 24:2-25 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast - They forcibly take young children in order that they may bring them up in a state of slavery. This verse is the commencement of a new paragraph, and points out the arbitrary dealings of oppressors, under despotic governors. Take a pledge of the poor - Oppressive landlords who let out their grounds at an exorbitant rent, which the poor laborers, though using the utmost diligence, are unable at all times to pay; and then the unfeeling wretch sells then up, as the phrase here is, or takes their cow, their horse, their cart, or their bed, in pledge, that the money shall be paid in such a time. This is one of the crying sins of some countries of Europe.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 24:1-12

Job discourses further about the prosperity of the wicked. That many live at ease who are ungodly and profane, he had showed, ch. xxi. Here he shows that many who live in open defiance of all the laws of justice, succeed in wicked practices; and we do not see them reckoned with in this world. He notices those that do wrong under pretence of law and authority; and robbers, those that do wrong by force. He says, "God…

Read the full comment on Job 24:1-12 →

Job 24:9 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

יִ֭גְזְלוּYig.ze.lupeople tear awayH1497
מִשֹּׁ֣דmi.Shodfrom [the] breastH7699
יָת֑וֹםya.Toma fatherless oneH3490
וְֽעַל\־ve.'al-and onH5921
עָנִ֥י'a.Ni[the] poorH6041
יַחְבֹּֽלוּ\׃yach.Bo.luthey take pledgesH2254

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 24:9

  • Nehemiah 5:5

    Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.

  • 2 Kings 4:1

    Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 4:1; Ne 5:5

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 24:8

    They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.

  • Job 24:9

    They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.

  • Job 24:10

    They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;

Read all of Job 24

Job 24:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Quitan el pecho á los huérfanos, y de sobre el pobre toman la prenda.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Ils arrachent de la mamelle l’orphelin, et de la main des pauvres ils prennent des gages:
German
Elberfelder 1871		Sie reißen die Waise von der Brust, und was der Elende anhat, nehmen sie zum Pfande.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Vim fecerunt deprædantes pupillos, et vulgum pauperem spoliaverunt.