The Bible in Basic English BBE
New International Version NIV
1 Why are times not stored up by the Ruler of all, and why do those who have knowledge of him not see his days?
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“Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?
2 The landmarks are changed by evil men, they violently take away flocks, together with their keepers.
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There are those who move boundary stones; they pasture flocks they have stolen.
3 They send away the ass of him who has no father, they take the widow's ox for debt.
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They drive away the orphan’s donkey and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4 The crushed are turned out of the way; all the poor of the earth go into a secret place together.
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They thrust the needy from the path and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Like asses in the waste land they go out to their work, looking for food with care; from the waste land they get bread for their children.
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Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labor of foraging food; the wasteland provides food for their children.
6 They get mixed grain from the field, and they take away the late fruit from the vines of those who have wealth.
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They gather fodder in the fields and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
7 They take their rest at night without clothing, and have no cover in the cold.
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Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked; they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains, and get into the cracks of the rock for cover.
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They are drenched by mountain rains and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.
9 The child without a father is forced from its mother's breast, and they take the young children of the poor for debt.
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The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.
10 Others go about without clothing, and though they have no food, they get in the grain from the fields.
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Lacking clothes, they go about naked; they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 Between the lines of olive-trees they make oil; though they have no drink, they are crushing out the grapes.
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They crush olives among the terraces ; they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 From the town come sounds of pain from those who are near death, and the soul of the wounded is crying out for help; but God does not take note of their prayer.
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The 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.
13 Then there are those who are haters of the light, who have no knowledge of its ways, and do not go in them.
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“There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths.
14 He who is purposing death gets up before day, so that he may put to death the poor and those in need.
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When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up, kills the poor and needy, and in the night steals forth like a thief.
15 And the man whose desire is for the wife of another is waiting for the evening, saying, No eye will see me; and he puts a cover on his face. And in the night the thief goes about;
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The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’ and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark he makes holes in the walls of houses: in the daytime they are shutting themselves up, they have no knowledge of the light.
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In the dark, thieves break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light.
17 For the middle of the night is as morning to them, they are not troubled by the fear of the dark.
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For all of them, midnight is their morning; they make friends with the terrors of darkness.
18 They go quickly on the face of the waters; their heritage is cursed in the earth; the steps of the crusher of grapes are not turned to their vine-garden.
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“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.
19 Snow waters become dry with the heat: so do sinners go down into the underworld.
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As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The public place of his town has no more knowledge of him, and his name has gone from the memory of men: he is rooted up like a dead tree.
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The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on them; the wicked are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree.
21 He is not kind to the widow, and he has no pity for her child.
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They prey on the barren and childless woman, and to the widow they show no kindness.
22 But God by his power gives long life to the strong; he gets up again, though he has no hope of life.
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But God drags away the mighty by his power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
23 He takes away his fear of danger and gives him support; and his eyes are on his ways.
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He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their ways.
24 For a short time they are lifted up; then they are gone; they are made low, they are pulled off like fruit, and like the heads of grain they are cut off.
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For 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.
25 And if it is not so, now, who will make it clear that my words are false, and that what I say is of no value?
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“If this is not so, who can prove me false and reduce my words to nothing?”
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.