Futility of Injustice
24 “Why are times not stored up by Shaddai?
And why do those who know Him not see His days?
2 Some remove the boundary-stones;
they steal flocks and pasture them.
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
4 They turn the needy off the path;
they force the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert, they go about their work,
foraging prey in the desert as food for their children.
6 They reap their fodder in the field
and glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 Without clothing they spend the night naked,
without covering against the cold.
8 They are drenched by mountain rains,
and hug the rock for lack of shelter.
9 The orphan is snatched from the breast;
the infant of the poor is taken as a pledge.
10 They wander about naked, without clothing
and go hungry while they carry sheaves.
11 They press oil between the terraces;
they tread winepresses, but are thirsty.
12 From the city men groan,
and the souls of the wounded cry out;
yet God charges no one with folly.
13 These are those who rebel against the light,
who do not recognize its ways or stay in its paths.
14 The murderer rises with the light, kills the poor and needy,
and in the night becomes a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer waits for twilight,
thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ and he disguises his face.
16 When it is dark, they break into houses,
but by day, they shut themselves in;
they do not know the light.
17 For to all of them, morning is as thick darkness;
they are familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.
18 “He is foam on the surface of water;
their portion of the land is cursed;
no one turns toward their vineyards.
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,
so Sheol, takes away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets him,
the worm feasts on him,
no longer will he be remembered.
But like a tree, wickedness is broken.
21 He feeds on the barren and childless woman,
and shows no kindness to the widow.
22 But He drags off the mighty by His power;
He raises up, yet no one has assurance of life.
23 He allows him to rest in a sense of security,
but His eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little while
and then they are gone;
they are brought low
and gathered up like all others,
they are like heads of grain they wither.
25 Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar,
and reduce my speech to nothing?”