1 "Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, Why do those who know Him see not His days? |
2 "Some remove landmarks; They seize flocks violently and feed on them; |
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; They take the widow's ox as a pledge. |
4 They push the needy off the road; All the poor of the land are forced to hide. |
5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, They go out to their work, searching for food. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children. |
6 They gather their fodder in the field And glean in the vineyard of the wicked. |
7 They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering in the cold. |
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, And huddle around the rock for want of shelter. |
9 "Some snatch the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge from the poor. |
10 They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing; And they take away the sheaves from the hungry. |
11 They press out oil within their walls, And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst. |
12 The dying groan in the city, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not charge them with wrong. |
13 "There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths. |
14 The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief. |
15 The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, 'No eye will see me'; And he disguises his face. |
16 In the dark they break into houses Which they marked for themselves in the daytime; They do not know the light. |
17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; If someone recognizes them, They are in the terrors of the shadow of death. |
18 "They should be swift on the face of the waters, Their portion should be cursed in the earth, So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards. |
19 As drought and heat consume the snow waters, So the grave consumes those who have sinned. |
20 The womb should forget him, The worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be remembered no more, And wickedness should be broken like a tree. |
21 For he preys on the barren who do not bear, And does no good for the widow. |
22 "But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life. |
23 He gives them security, and they rely on it; Yet His eyes are on their ways. |
24 They are exalted for a little while, Then they are gone. They are brought low; They are taken out of the way like all others; They dry out like the heads of grain. |
25 "Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech worth nothing?" |