1Why are times not laid up by Shaddai? And why do those who know Him not see His days?
2They remove boundary-marks; they rob a flock and pasture it.
3They drive away the ass of the fatherless; they take in pledge the ox of the widow.
4They turn the needy out of the way; together the poor of the land hide themselves.
5Behold, like wild asses in the wilderness they go forth to their labor, searching diligently for prey; the steppe yields him bread for the young ones.
6In the field they reap his fodder, and they glean the vineyard of the wicked.
7Naked they lodge for lack of clothing, and there is no covering in the cold.
8From the downpour of the mountains they are wet, and for lack of shelter they embrace the rock.
9They snatch the fatherless from the breast, and against the poor they take a pledge.
10Naked they go about without clothing, and hungry they carry the sheaf.
11Within their rows they press out oil; they tread the winepresses, yet they thirst.
12Out of the city men groan, and the soul (nephesh) of the wounded cries out; yet God does not set it down as unseemliness.
13They are among those who rebel against the light; they do not recognize His ways, nor abide in His paths.
14At the light the murderer rises; he kills the poor and needy; and in the night he is like a thief.
15And the eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight, saying, "No eye shall behold me"; and he sets a covering on his face.
16In the darkness he digs through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light.
17For morning is to all of them as the shadow of death; for he knows the terrors of the shadow of death.
18Swift is he upon the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the land; he does not turn by the way of the vineyards.
19Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters; so does Sheol those who have sinned.
20The womb forgets him; the worm finds him sweet; he is no more remembered; and unrighteousness is broken like a tree.
21He feeds on the barren who does not bear, and does no good to the widow.
22And He draws away the mighty by His power; he rises up, yet trusts not in life (chai).
23He gives him to be in safety, and he leans upon it; and His eyes are upon their ways.
24They are exalted a little, and they are not; they are brought low; like all they are gathered in; and like the head of an ear of grain they are cut off.
25And if it is not so, then who will prove me a liar, and make my word as nothing?