Job 24:21

This verse is closely connected with the last clause of the preceding.

And wickedness shall be broken like a tree

Even he that devoureth the barren that beareth not,

And doeth not good unto the widow.

The "tree" is a frequent object of comparison, e.g. ch. Job 19:10, "removed or plucked up like a tree," here "broken" like a tree. The "barren that beareth not" is she that is lonely, having no sons to uphold her right, Psalms 127:3, cf. Isaiah 51:18. Pleading for, or upholding the cause of the widow is often enjoined, as in Isaiah 1:17, and the Lord Himself is said to be her "judge," Psalms 68:5.

The broad and somewhat exaggerated colours of the preceding picture (Job 24:18) indicate that it is either actually in part the work of a popular hand, or that it is a parody after the popular manner by Job himself.