They cling to darkness, rejecting the clarity and goodness available in God’s light.
“In the dark they dig into houses, They shut themselves up by day; They do not know the light” (v.16). Here, Job describes people who commit robbery under the cover of darkness, hiding from society in the daytime. The phrase in the dark conveys both a literal picture of nighttime intruders and a symbolic picture of moral blindness. These individuals not only seek outward concealment to commit wrong, but also persist in a spiritually dark mindset where they fail to recognize the light of righteousness and truth. In the broader context of Job 24, the suffering patriarch laments what he sees as rampant injustice in the world, as the wicked seem to prosper and escape notice.
When Job says, They shut themselves up by day; They do not know the light, it suggests that these wrongdoers live in a self-imposed isolation. The daytime, often associated with openness and virtue, is something they avoid to keep their deeds unexposed. Scripture frequently uses darkness as a metaphor for sin and estrangement from God (see John 3:19-20). In this verse, the idea that they “do not know the light” heightens a theme throughout the Bible: those who choose the cover of darkness to pursue evil are ultimately separated from God’s truth and spiritual illumination.
This passage resonates with the larger message of wisdom literature: although such hidden crimes appear to go unpunished, God remains aware of all deeds, whether done openly or in secret. The verse underscores the tragedy of alienation from God—the deeper one journeys into moral darkness, the less one recognizes the redeeming light that could lead to repentance and genuine transformation.
Set to dark mode
Job 24:16 meaning
“In the dark they dig into houses, They shut themselves up by day; They do not know the light” (v.16). Here, Job describes people who commit robbery under the cover of darkness, hiding from society in the daytime. The phrase in the dark conveys both a literal picture of nighttime intruders and a symbolic picture of moral blindness. These individuals not only seek outward concealment to commit wrong, but also persist in a spiritually dark mindset where they fail to recognize the light of righteousness and truth. In the broader context of Job 24, the suffering patriarch laments what he sees as rampant injustice in the world, as the wicked seem to prosper and escape notice.
When Job says, They shut themselves up by day; They do not know the light, it suggests that these wrongdoers live in a self-imposed isolation. The daytime, often associated with openness and virtue, is something they avoid to keep their deeds unexposed. Scripture frequently uses darkness as a metaphor for sin and estrangement from God (see John 3:19-20). In this verse, the idea that they “do not know the light” heightens a theme throughout the Bible: those who choose the cover of darkness to pursue evil are ultimately separated from God’s truth and spiritual illumination.
This passage resonates with the larger message of wisdom literature: although such hidden crimes appear to go unpunished, God remains aware of all deeds, whether done openly or in secret. The verse underscores the tragedy of alienation from God—the deeper one journeys into moral darkness, the less one recognizes the redeeming light that could lead to repentance and genuine transformation.