1 Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs “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 mountainsAnd 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 causethe poorto 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 waysNor 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 doesSheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) [consume]those whohave 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) womanAnd 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 upandtaken 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 liarAnd make my speech worthless?”