1 Why doesn't Godset a time for court?Why don't his people knowwhere he can be found?
2 Sinners remove boundary markersand take care of sheepthey have stolen.
3 They cheat orphans and widowsby taking their donkeysand oxen.
4 The poor are trampledand forced to hide
5 in the desert,where they and their childrenmust live like wild donkeysand search for food.
6 If they want grain or grapes,they must go to the propertyof these sinners.
7 They sleep naked in the cold,because they have no cover,
8 and during a stormtheir only shelters are cavesamong the rocky cliffs.
9 Children whose fathers have diedare taken from their mothersas payment for a debt.
10 Then they are forced to worknaked in the grain fieldsbecause they have no clothes,and they go hungry.
11 They crush olives to make oiland grapes to make wine—but still they go thirsty.
12 And along the city streets,the wounded and dying cry out,yet God does nothing.
13 Some rebel and refuseto follow the light.
14 Soon after sunset they murderthe poor and the needy,and at night they steal.
15 Others wait for the dark,thinking they won't be seenif they sleep with the wifeor husband of someone else.
16 Robbers hide during the day,then break in after darkbecause they reject the light.
17 They prefer night to day,since the terrors of the nightare their friends.
18 Those sinners are filthy foamon the surface of the water.And so, their fields and vineyardswill fall under a curseand won't produce.
19 Just as the heat of summerswallows the snow,the world of the deadswallows those who sin.
20 Forgotten here on earth,and with their power broken,they taste sweet to worms.
21 Sinners take advantage of widowsand other helpless women.
22 But God's mighty strengthdestroys those in power.Even if they seem successful,they are doomed to fail.
23 God may let them feel secure,but they are neverout of his sight.
24 Great for a while; gone for ever!Sinners are mowed downlike weeds,then they wither and die.
25 If I haven't spoken the truth,then prove me wrong.