מַדּוּעַ מִשַּׁדַּי לֹא־נִצְפְּנוּ עִתִּים ויֹדְעָו לֹא־חָזוּ יָמָיו

Why are times not concealed from the Almighty? Why shouldn’t one think that events are hidden from God? Those who know Him cannot foresee His days. After all, even those who know Him, who should be able to explain divine providence, are unable to do so.

גְּבֻלוֹת יַשִּׂיגוּ עֵדֶר גָּזְלוּ וַיִּרְעוּ

They, wicked individuals, move boundaries in order to expropriate land; they steal a flock and shepherd it in fields that do not belong to them, for their own benefit.

חֲמוֹר יְתוֹמִים יִנְהָגוּ יַחְבְּלוּ שׁוֹר אַלְמָנָה

They drive the donkey of orphans, which they appropriate for themselves; they take as collateral the ox of a widow, in violation of the Torah’s command: “You shall not take a widow’s garment as collateral.”

יַטּוּ אֶבְיֹנִים מִדָּרֶךְ יַחַד חֻבְּאוּ עֲנִיֵּי־אָרֶץ

They impose their fear on the weak, and thereby turn the indigent from the way; together, the poor of the land hide.

הֵן פְּרָאִים בַּמִּדְבָּר יָצְאוּ בְּפָעֳלָם מְשַׁחֲרֵי לַטָּרֶף עֲרָבָה לוֹ לֶחֶם לַנְּעָרִים

Behold, like onagers that live in the wilderness, they go out to their tasks, seeking prey; the desert is his, food for the young. The wicked are compared to wild donkeys because they are violent and uninhibited. They prefer to derive their sustenance in the unprotected wilderness, where they can rob passersby, rather than in civilized regions.

בַּשָּׂדֶה בְּלִילוֹ יִקְצוֹרוּ וכֶרֶם רָשָׁע יְלַקֵּשׁוּ

They, the wild asses, that is, the wicked, reap in the field at night [belilo], and the wicked harvest the vineyard. Some claim that belilo is a contraction of beli lo, meaning not theirs, implying that they harvest the grain of others.

עָרוֹם יָלִינוּ מִבְּלִי לְבוּשׁ וְאֵין כְּסוּת בַּקָּרָה

They have them pass the night naked without clothing, and there is no covering in the cold. The wicked take from the poor everything they have, including their clothing, leaving them lying naked, with no covering at all.

מִזֶּרֶם הָרִים יִרְטָבוּ וּמִבְּלִי מַחְסֶה חִבְּקוּ־צוּר

They, the poor, are soaked by the streams of the mountains, the waters that flow from the mountains, and they embrace the rock for lack of shelter. Since the poor lack basic shelter, they have no choice but to press themselves against rocks for some degree of protection.

יִגְזְלוּ מִשֹּׁד יָתוֹם וְעַל עָנִי יַחְבֹּלוּ

They snatch an orphan from the breast of his mother, and from upon the poor they take collateral, by removing their very clothing from their bodies,

עָרוֹם הִלְּכוּ בְּלִי לְבוּשׁ וּרְעֵבִים נָשְׂאוּ עֹמֶר

so that they, the poor, must walk about naked, without clothing, and the hungry carry to those oppressive wicked people a sheaf of grain. These destitute individuals have to work for the evildoers, harvesting and transporting their crops while they themselves are starving.

בֵּין־שׁוּרֹתָם יַצְהִירוּ יְקָבִים דָּרְכוּ וַיִּצְמָאוּ

They, the poor workers, would make oil between their rows of the olive groves belonging to these wicked men; they have trodden grapes in their winepresses and are thirsty, while the owners do not allow them to taste the beverages they themselves help to produce.

מֵעִיר מְתִים יִנְאָקוּ וְנֶפֶשׁ־חֲלָלִים תְּשַׁוֵּעַ ואֱלוֹהַּ לֹא־יָשִׂים תִּפְלָה

From a populated city they, the poor and oppressed men, or the residents of a conquered city, groan, and the souls of the dead plead, beseech for help; but God does not treat it as indecency. He does not see anything improper in their situation.

הֵמָּה הָיוּ בְּמֹרְדֵי אוֹר לֹא־הִכִּירוּ דְרָכָיו וְלֹא יָשְׁבוּ בִּנְתִיבֹתָיו

These wicked men were among the rebels against God, the source of light, goodness, and truth; they did not recognize His ways, and they did not live by His paths.

לָאוֹר יָקוּם רוֹצֵחַ יִקְטָל עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן וּבַלַּיְלָה יְהִי כַגַּנָּב

The murderer would rise up in broad daylight, he would kill the poor and indigent, as he does not accept the yoke of Heaven at all, and at night he would be like a thief, who surreptitiously carries out his nefarious acts.

וְעֵין נֹאֵף שָׁמְרָה נֶּשֶׁף לֵאמֹר לֹא־תְשׁוּרֵנִי עָיִן וסֵתֶר פָּנִים יָשִׂים

The eye of the adulterer, who searches for a strange woman with whom he can sin, awaits the night, saying: No eye will behold me, and he directs his glance clandestinely toward her.

חָתַר בַּחֹשֶׁךְ בָּתִּים יוֹמָם חִתְּמוּ־לָמוֹ לֹא־יָדְעוּ אוֹר

In the dark they burrow under in order to break into houses; during the day they conceal it; they know not light. During the daylight hours, they cover up the area they dug in the previous night, so that no one will discover their evil plans. Alternatively, during the daytime they hide themselves so that no one will see them.

כִּי יַחְדָּו בֹּקֶר לָמוֹ צַלְמָוֶת כִּי יַכִּיר בַּלְהוֹת צַלְמָוֶת

For them together, morning is the shadow of death, for they will be recognized; it is the terrors, or the demons, of the shadow of death. The morning is a frightful time for them, as they could be identified in the light of day.

קַל־הוּא עַל־פְּנֵי־מַיִם תְּקֻלַּל חֶלְקָתָם בָּאָרֶץ לֹא יִפְנֶה דֶּרֶךְ כְּרָמִים

After describing the evil ways of the wicked, Job depicts the punishment they deserve: He will be light upon the surface of the water. The wicked will not have any durable existence or honor; rather, it will be as though they are floating on the water. Their portion in the land is cursed; no one will turn aside through the vineyards. No one will turn to their vineyards, because they will be rendered impassable due to all the thorns that will sprout there.

צִיָּה גַם־חֹם יִגְזְלוּ מֵימֵי־שֶׁלֶג שְׁאוֹל חָטָאוּ

Just as desolation as well as heat rob and easily eradicate snow water, so does the grave eliminate those who have sinned.

יִשְׁכָּחֵהוּ רֶחֶם מְתָקוֹ רִמָּה עוֹד לֹא־יִזָּכֵר וַתִּשָּׁבֵר כָּעֵץ עַוְלָה

The womb of his mother will forget him. The fate of the wicked will be like that of an aborted fetus. He will be sweet for the maggots in the ground; he will no longer be remembered, and thus injustice will be broken like a tree.

רֹעֶה עֲקָרָה לֹא תֵלֵד וְאַלְמָנָה לֹא יְיֵטִיב

He consorts with the barren who will not give birth, and to the widow he will do no good. The wicked individual will live with a barren woman, and after he dies he will leave her nothing for her livelihood.

וּמָשַׁךְ אַבִּירִים בְּכֹחוֹ יָקוּם וְלֹא־יַאֲמִין בַּחַיִּין

However, despite their evil deeds, God supports the wicked: He perpetuates the powerful in his strength. God extends the lives of the mighty, wicked people. He, each of them, rises up, though he does not believe in life, even if he reaches a point where he does not believe he will live.

יִתֶּן־לוֹ לָבֶטַח וְיִשָּׁעֵן וְעֵינֵיהוּ עַל־דַּרְכֵיהֶם

He gives him security on which he relies, God gives the wicked a crutch to support the wicked, and His eyes are on their ways. He watches and protects them.

רוֹמּוּ מְעַט וְאֵינֶנּוּ וְהֻמְּכוּ כַּכֹּל יִקָּפְצוּן וּכְרֹאשׁ שִׁבֹּלֶת יִמָּלוּ

If lifted for a while, they would be gone; lowered at all, they would be cut off and would wither like the top of the stalk. Were the eyes of God to be lifted even briefly from the wicked, they would be gone; it is only God’s special protection that sustains them. If God’s eyes were lowered from the wicked at all, they would be gathered in from their place and cut off, and they would wither and be lost like the top of an ear of corn.

וְאִם־לֹא אֵפוֹ מִי יַכְזִיבֵנִי וְיָשֵׂם לְאַל מִלָּתִי

If it is indeed not so, if my depiction of reality is incorrect, who will contradict me or refute me and negate my word, my comments?