| New International Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1"Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days? | 1Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why do those who know Him never see His days? |
| 2There are those who move boundary stones; they pasture flocks they have stolen. | 2The wicked displace boundary markers. They steal a flock and provide pasture for it. |
| 3They drive away the orphan's donkey 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 thrust the needy from the path 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. |
| 5Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labor of foraging food; the wasteland provides 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 in the vineyards of the wicked. | 6They gather their fodder in the field and glean the vineyards of the wicked. |
| 7Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked; they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold. | 7Without clothing, they spend the night naked, having no covering against the cold. |
| 8They are drenched by mountain rains and hug the rocks for lack of shelter. | 8Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks, shelterless. |
| 9The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant 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. |
| 10Lacking clothes, they go 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 among the terraces; they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst. | 11They crush olives in their presses; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty. |
| 12The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out for help. But 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. |
| 13"There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in 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 up, kills the poor and needy, and in the night steals forth 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 dusk; he thinks, 'No eye will see me,' and he keeps his face concealed. | 15The adulterer's eye watches for twilight, thinking: No eye will see me; he covers his face. |
| 16In the dark, thieves break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light. | 16In the dark they break into houses; by day they lock themselves in, never experiencing the light. |
| 17For all of them, midnight is their morning; they make friends with the terrors of darkness. | 17For the morning is like darkness to them. Surely they are familiar with the terrors of darkness! |
| 18"Yet they are foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one goes to the 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 heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away 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 feasts on them; the wicked are no longer remembered but are broken like a 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 woman, and to the widow they show no kindness. | 21They prey on the childless woman who is unable to conceive, and do not deal kindly with the widow. |
| 22But God drags away the mighty by his power; though they become established, 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 may let them rest in a feeling 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. |
| 24For a little while they are exalted, and 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. |
| 25"If this is not so, who can prove me false 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? |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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