Berean Study Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
1“Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days? | 1Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why do those who know Him never see His days? |
2Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks. | 2The wicked displace boundary markers. They steal a flock and provide pasture for it. |
3They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge. | 3They drive away the donkeys owned by the fatherless and take the widow's ox as collateral. |
4They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding. | 4They push the needy off the road; the poor of the land are forced into hiding. |
5Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children. | 5Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go out to their task of foraging for food; the wilderness provides nourishment for their children. |
6They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked. | 6They gather their fodder in the field and glean the vineyards of the wicked. |
7Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold. | 7Without clothing, they spend the night naked, having no covering against the cold. |
8Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter. | 8Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks, shelterless. |
9The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt. | 9The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized as collateral. |
10Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry. | 10Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry sheaves but go hungry. |
11They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty. | 11They crush olives in their presses; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty. |
12From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing. | 12From the city, men groan; the mortally wounded cry for help, yet God pays no attention to this crime. |
13Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths. | 13The wicked are those who rebel against the light. They do not recognize its ways or stay on its paths. |
14When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief. | 14The murderer rises at dawn to kill the poor and needy, and by night he becomes a thief. |
15The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face. | 15The adulterer's eye watches for twilight, thinking: No eye will see me; he covers his face. |
16In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light. | 16In the dark they break into houses; by day they lock themselves in, never experiencing the light. |
17For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness! | 17For the morning is like darkness to them. Surely they are familiar with the terrors of darkness! |
18They are but foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one turns toward their vineyards. | 18They float on the surface of the water. Their section of the land is cursed, so that they never go to their vineyards. |
19As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. | 19As dry ground and heat snatch away the melted snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. |
20The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree. | 20The womb forgets them; worms feed on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is broken like a tree. |
21They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow. | 21They prey on the childless woman who is unable to conceive, and do not deal kindly with the widow. |
22Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life. | 22Yet God drags away the mighty by His power; when He rises up, they have no assurance of life. |
23He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways. | 23He gives them a sense of security, so they can rely on it, but His eyes watch over their ways. |
24They are exalted for a moment, then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain. | 24They are exalted for a moment, then they are gone; they are brought low and shrivel up like everything else. They wither like heads of grain. |
25If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?” | 25If this is not true, then who can prove me a liar and show that my speech is worthless? |
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