| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days? | 1Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why do those who know Him never see His days? |
| 2Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof. | 2The wicked displace boundary markers. They steal a flock and provide pasture for it. |
| 3They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge. | 3They drive away the donkeys owned by the fatherless and take the widow's ox as collateral. |
| 4They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together. | 4They push the needy off the road; the poor of the land are forced into hiding. |
| 5Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children. | 5Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go out to their task of foraging for food; the wilderness provides nourishment for their children. |
| 6They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked. | 6They gather their fodder in the field and glean the vineyards of the wicked. |
| 7They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold. | 7Without clothing, they spend the night naked, having no covering against the cold. |
| 8They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter. | 8Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks, shelterless. |
| 9They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor. | 9The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized as collateral. |
| 10They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry; | 10Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry sheaves but go hungry. |
| 11Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst. | 11They crush olives in their presses; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty. |
| 12Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them. | 12From the city, men groan; the mortally wounded cry for help, yet God pays no attention to this crime. |
| 13They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof. | 13The wicked are those who rebel against the light. They do not recognize its ways or stay on its paths. |
| 14The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief. | 14The murderer rises at dawn to kill the poor and needy, and by night he becomes a thief. |
| 15The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face. | 15The adulterer's eye watches for twilight, thinking: No eye will see me; he covers his face. |
| 16In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light. | 16In the dark they break into houses; by day they lock themselves in, never experiencing the light. |
| 17For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death. | 17For the morning is like darkness to them. Surely they are familiar with the terrors of darkness! |
| 18He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards. | 18They float on the surface of the water. Their section of the land is cursed, so that they never go to their vineyards. |
| 19Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned. | 19As dry ground and heat snatch away the melted snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. |
| 20The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree. | 20The womb forgets them; worms feed on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is broken like a tree. |
| 21He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow. | 21They prey on the childless woman who is unable to conceive, and do not deal kindly with the widow. |
| 22He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life. | 22Yet God drags away the mighty by His power; when He rises up, they have no assurance of life. |
| 23Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways. | 23He gives them a sense of security, so they can rely on it, but His eyes watch over their ways. |
| 24They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. | 24They are exalted for a moment, then they are gone; they are brought low and shrivel up like everything else. They wither like heads of grain. |
| 25And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth? | 25If this is not true, then who can prove me a liar and show that my speech is worthless? |
|
