1Why are times not laid up by the Almighty ? And why do not they that know him see his days ? 2There are that remove the landmarks ; They violently take away flocks , and feed them . 3They drive away the ass of the fatherless ; They take the widow’s ox for a pledge . 4They turn the needy out of the way : The poor of the earth all hide themselves . 5Behold , as wild asses in the desert They go forth to their work , seeking diligently for food ; The wilderness yieldeth them bread for their children . 6They cut their provender in the field ; And they glean the vintage of the wicked . 7They lie all night naked without clothing , And have no covering in the cold . 8They are wet with the showers of the mountains , And embrace the rock for want of a shelter . 9There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast , And take a pledge of the poor ; 10So that they go about naked without clothing , And being hungry they carry the sheaves . 11They make oil within the walls of these men; They tread their winepresses , and suffer thirst . 12From out of the populous city men groan , And the soul of the wounded crieth out : Yet God regardeth not the folly .
God's Silence and the Fate of the Wicked
13These are of them that rebel against the light; They know not the ways thereof , Nor abide in the paths thereof . 14The murderer riseth with the light; He killeth the poor and needy ; And in the night he is as a thief . 15The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight , Saying, No eye shall see me : And he disguiseth his face . 16In the dark they dig through houses : They shut themselves up in the day-time; They know not the light. 17For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness ; For they know the terrors of the thick darkness . 18Swiftly they pass away upon the face of the waters ; Their portion is cursed in the earth: They turn not into the way of the vineyards . 19Drought and heat consume the snow waters : So doth Sheol those that have sinned . 20The womb shall forget him ; The worm shall feed sweetly on him ; He shall be no more remembered ; And unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree . 21He devoureth the barren that beareth not , And doeth not good to the widow. 22Yet God preserveth the mighty by his power : He riseth up that hath no assurance of life . 23God giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon ; And his eyes are upon their ways . 24They are exalted ; yet a little while , and they are gone; Yea, they are brought low , they are taken out of the way as all others, And are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain . 25And if it be not so now , who will prove me a liar , And make my speech nothing worth?