He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.
Job 24:21 belongs to Job's own answer to his friends, an answer that expresses confidence in God's mercy while describing the end of the wicked. More particularly it comes in Job 22-24 within the larger section of Job 8-27, as part of Job's last reply after his friends ceased their constant accusations, both implied and otherwise. Since that reply is still continuing, its accusations and responses belong together and call for reading farther.
The book of Job as a whole discusses human suffering and its causes through arguments presented by different speakers, so not every statement in it is necessarily true. The statements of Job's friends are generally true but misapplied to Job's case, and Job himself was a real person whose suffering and patience teach a lesson. The verse describes the wicked as those who mistreat the childless woman who bears no children and who fail to do good to the widow. That neglect of the vulnerable stands in contrast to Job's own conduct, for he had delivered the poor and fatherless and had brought joy to the widow.
Job 24:21 belongs to Job's own answer to his friends, an answer that expresses confidence in God's mercy while describing the end of the wicked. More particularly it comes in Job 22-24 within the larger section of Job 8-27, as part of Job's last reply after his friends ceased their constant accusations, both implied and otherwise. Since that reply is still continuing, its accusations and responses belong together and call for reading farther.
The book of Job as a whole discusses human suffering and its causes through arguments presented by different speakers, so not every statement in it is necessarily true. The statements of Job's friends are generally true but misapplied to Job's case, and Job himself was a real person whose suffering and patience teach a lesson. The verse describes the wicked as those who mistreat the childless woman who bears no children and who fail to do good to the widow. That neglect of the vulnerable stands in contrast to Job's own conduct, for he had delivered the poor and fatherless and had brought joy to the widow.