New International Version NIV
Revised Standard Version RSV
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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"Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty, and why do those who know him never see his days?
2 There are those who move boundary stones; they pasture flocks they have stolen.
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Men remove landmarks; they seize flocks and pasture 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 ass of the fatherless; they take the widow's ox for 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 thrust the poor off the road; the poor of the earth all hide themselves.
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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Behold, like wild asses in the desert they go forth to their toil, seeking prey in the wilderness as food 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 they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked; they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
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They lie all 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 rain of the mountains, and cling to 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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(There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast, and take in pledge the infant of the poor.)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked; they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
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They go about naked, without clothing; hungry, they carry the sheaves;
11 They crush olives among the terraces ; they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
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among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil; they tread the wine presses, but 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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From out of the city the dying groan, and the soul of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer.
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, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay 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 in the dark, that he may kill the poor and needy; and in the night he is as 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 also 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 dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; 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 deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.
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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"You say, "They are swiftly carried away upon the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the land; no treader turns toward 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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Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters; so does Sheol 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 squares of the town forget them; their name is no longer remembered; so wickedness is 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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"They feed on the barren childless woman, and do no good to 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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Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power; they rise up when they despair 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 are supported; and his eyes are upon 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 a little while, and then are gone; they wither and fade like the mallow; they are cut off 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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If it is not so, who will prove me a liar, and show that there is nothing in what I say?"
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.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.