4
They 1thrust the poor off the road; the poor of the earth 2all hide themselves.
5
Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert the poor3go out to their toil, 4seeking game; the wasteland yields food for their children.
6
They gather their fodder in the field, and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.
7
They 5lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.
8
They are wet with the rain of the mountains and 6cling to the rock for lack of shelter.
9
(There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast, and they take a pledge against the poor.)
10
They go about naked, without clothing; hungry, they 7carry the sheaves;
11
among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil; they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst.
12
From out of the city the dying groan, and the soul of 8the wounded cries for help; yet God charges no one with 9wrong.
13
"There are those who rebel 10against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths.
14
The murderer rises before it is light, that he 11may kill the poor and needy, and in the night he is like a thief.
15
The eye of the adulterer also waits for 12the twilight, saying, 'No 13eye will see me'; and he veils his face.
16
In the dark they 14dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light.
17
For 15deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.
18
"You say, 16'Swift are they on the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the land; no treader turns toward their vineyards.
19
Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters; so does 17Sheol those who have sinned.
20
The womb forgets them; the worm finds them sweet; they are 18no longer remembered, so wickedness is broken like 19a tree.'
21
"They wrong the barren, childless woman, and do no good to the widow.
22
Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power; they rise up when they despair of life.
23
He gives them security, and they are supported, and his 20eyes are upon their ways.
24
They are exalted 21a little while, and then 22are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are 23cut off like the heads of grain.