1“Why does the Almighty not set seasons for judgment?

Why do those who know Him not see His days [for punishment of the wicked]?

2“Some remove the landmarks;

They [violently] seize and pasture flocks [appropriating land and flocks openly].

3“They drive away the donkeys of the orphans;

They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

4“They crowd the needy off the road;

The poor of the land all hide themselves.

5“Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert,

The poor go to their work, diligently seeking food;

As bread for their children in the desert.

6“They harvest their fodder in a field [that is not their own],

And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

7“They spend the night naked, without clothing,

And have no covering against the cold.

8“They are wet from the rain of the mountains

And cling to the rock for lack of shelter.

9“Others snatch the fatherless [infants] from the breast [to sell or make them slaves],

And against the poor they take a pledge [of clothing].

10“They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,

And they take away the sheaves [of grain] from the hungry.

11“Within the walls [of the wicked] the poor make [olive] oil;

They tread [the grapes in] the wine presses, but thirst.

12“From the [populous and crowded] city men groan,

And the souls of the wounded cry out for help;

Yet God [seemingly] does not pay attention to the wrong [done to them].

13“Others have been with those who rebel against the light;

They do not want to know its ways

Nor stay in its paths.

14“The murderer rises at dawn;

He kills the poor and the needy,

And at night he becomes a thief.

15“The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,

Saying, ‘No eye will see me,’

And he covers his face.

16“In the dark they dig into [the penetrable walls of] houses;

They shut themselves up by day;

They do not know the light [of day].

17“For the morning is the same to him as the thick darkness [of midnight];

For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

18“They are insignificant on the surface of the water;

Their portion is cursed on the earth;

They do not turn toward the vineyards.

19“Drought and heat consume the snow waters;

So does Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) [consume] those who have sinned.

20“A mother will forget him;

The worm feeds on him until he is no longer remembered.

And wickedness will be broken like a tree [which cannot be restored].

21“He preys on the barren (childless) woman

And does no good for the widow.

22“Yet God draws away the mighty by His power;

He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

23“God gives them security, and they are supported;

And His eyes are on their ways.

24“They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone;

Moreover, they are brought low and like everything [they are] gathered up and taken out of the way;

Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

25“And if this is not so, who can prove me a liar

And make my speech worthless?”