New Living Translation | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
1“Why doesn’t the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment? Why must the godly wait for him in vain? | 1Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why do those who know Him never see His days? |
2Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers. They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures. | 2The wicked displace boundary markers. They steal a flock and provide pasture for it. |
3They take the orphan’s donkey and demand the widow’s ox as security for a loan. | 3They drive away the donkeys owned by the fatherless and take the widow's ox as collateral. |
4The poor are pushed off the path; the needy must hide together for safety. | 4They push the needy off the road; the poor of the land are forced into hiding. |
5Like wild donkeys in the wilderness, the poor must spend all their time looking for food, searching even in the desert for 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 harvest a field they do not own, and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked. | 6They gather their fodder in the field and glean the vineyards of the wicked. |
7All night they lie naked in the cold, without clothing or covering. | 7Without clothing, they spend the night naked, having no covering against the cold. |
8They are soaked by mountain showers, and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home. | 8Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks, shelterless. |
9“The wicked snatch a widow’s child from her breast, taking the baby as security for a loan. | 9The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized as collateral. |
10The poor must go about naked, without any clothing. They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving. | 10Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry sheaves but go hungry. |
11They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it, and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from 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 wounded cry for help, yet God ignores their moaning. | 12From the city, men groan; the mortally wounded cry for help, yet God pays no attention to this crime. |
13“Wicked people rebel against the light. They refuse to acknowledge 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. |
14The murderer rises in the early dawn to kill the poor and needy; at night he is a thief. | 14The murderer rises at dawn to kill the poor and needy, and by night he becomes a thief. |
15The adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No one will see me then.’ He hides his face so no one will know him. | 15The adulterer's eye watches for twilight, thinking: No eye will see me; he covers his face. |
16Thieves break into houses at night and sleep in the daytime. They are not acquainted with the light. | 16In the dark they break into houses; by day they lock themselves in, never experiencing the light. |
17The black night is their morning. They ally themselves with the terrors of the darkness. | 17For the morning is like darkness to them. Surely they are familiar with the terrors of darkness! |
18“But they disappear like foam down a river. Everything they own is cursed, and they are afraid to enter their own vineyards. | 18They float on the surface of the water. Their section of the land is cursed, so that they never go to their vineyards. |
19The grave consumes sinners just as drought and heat consume snow. | 19As dry ground and heat snatch away the melted snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. |
20Their own mothers will forget them. Maggots will find them sweet to eat. No one will remember them. Wicked people are broken like a tree in the storm. | 20The womb forgets them; worms feed on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is broken like a tree. |
21They cheat the woman who has no son to help her. They refuse to help the needy widow. | 21They prey on the childless woman who is unable to conceive, and do not deal kindly with the widow. |
22“God, in his power, drags away the rich. They may rise high, but 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. |
23They may be allowed to live in security, but God is always watching them. | 23He gives them a sense of security, so they can rely on it, but His eyes watch over their ways. |
24And though they are great now, in a moment they will be gone like all others, 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. |
25Can anyone claim otherwise? Who can prove me wrong?” | 25If this is not true, then who can prove me a liar and show that my speech is worthless? |
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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