New International Version NIV
New King James Version NKJV
1 “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?
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"Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, Why do those who know Him see not His days?
2 There are those who move boundary stones; they pasture flocks they have stolen.
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"Some remove landmarks; They seize flocks violently and feed on them;
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
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They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; They take the widow's ox as a pledge.
4 They thrust the needy from the path and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
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They push the needy off the road; All the poor of the land are forced to hide.
5 Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labor of foraging food; the wasteland provides food for their children.
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Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, They go out to their work, searching for food. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
6 They gather fodder in the fields and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
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They gather their fodder in the field And glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked; they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
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They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering in the cold.
8 They are drenched by mountain rains and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.
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They are wet with the showers of the mountains, And huddle around the rock for want of shelter.
9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.
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"Some snatch the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge from the poor.
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked; they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
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They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing; And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces ; they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
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They press out oil within their walls, And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 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.
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The dying groan in the city, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not charge them with wrong.
13 “There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths.
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"There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths.
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up, kills the poor and needy, and in the night steals forth like a thief.
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The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’ and he keeps his face concealed.
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The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, 'No eye will see me'; And he disguises his face.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light.
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In the dark they break into houses Which they marked for themselves in the daytime; They do not know the light.
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning; they make friends with the terrors of darkness.
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For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; If someone recognizes them, They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
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.
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"They should be swift on the face of the waters, Their portion should be cursed in the earth, So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.
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As drought and heat consume the snow waters, So the grave consumes those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on them; the wicked are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree.
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The womb should forget him, The worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be remembered no more, And wickedness should be broken like a tree.
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman, and to the widow they show no kindness.
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For he preys on the barren who do not bear, And does no good for the widow.
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
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"But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life.
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their ways.
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He gives them security, and they rely on it; Yet His eyes are on their ways.
24 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.
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They are exalted for a little while, Then they are gone. They are brought low; They are taken out of the way like all others; They dry out like the heads of grain.
25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false and reduce my words to nothing?”
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"Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech worth nothing?"
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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.