1 P UESTO que no son ocultos los tiempos al Todopoderoso, ¿Por qué los que le conocen no ven sus días?

¶ Why, seeing that times are not hidden from the Almighty, do those that know him not see his days?

2 T raspasan los términos, Roban los ganados, y apaciéntanlos.

Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks and feed thereof.

3 L lévanse el asno de los huérfanos; Prenden el buey de la viuda.

They drive away the ass of the fatherless; they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

4 H acen apartar del camino á los menesterosos: Y todos los pobres de la tierra se esconden.

They turn the needy out of the way; and all the poor of the earth hide themselves from them.

5 H e aquí, como asnos monteses en el desierto, Salen á su obra madrugando para robar; El desierto es mantenimiento de sus hijos.

Behold, as wild asses in the desert, they go forth to their work, rising early for a prey; the wilderness yields food for them and for their children.

6 E n el campo siegan su pasto, Y los impíos vendimian la viña ajena.

In the field they reap their fodder, and the wicked gather the vintage that is not theirs.

7 A l desnudo hacen dormir sin ropa, Y que en el frío no tenga cobertura.

They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.

8 C on las avenidas de los montes se mojan, Y abrazan las peñas sin tener abrigo.

They are wet with the floods of the mountains and embrace the rock for want of a covering.

9 Q uitan el pecho á los huérfanos, Y de sobre el pobre toman la prenda.

They pluck the fatherless from the breast and take a pledge of the poor.

10 A l desnudo hacen andar sin vestido, Y á los hambrientos quitan los hacecillos.

They cause the naked to go without clothing, and they take away the sheaves from the hungry.

11 D e dentro de sus paredes exprimen el aceite, Pisan los lagares, y mueren de sed.

They press oil within their walls and tread their winepresses and suffer thirst.

12 D e la ciudad gimen los hombres, Y claman las almas de los heridos de muerte: Mas Dios no puso estorbo.

Men groan from out of the city, and the souls of the dead cry out; yet God did not hinder them.

13 E llos son los que, rebeldes á la luz, Nunca conocieron sus caminos, Ni estuvieron en sus veredas.

¶ They are among those that rebel against the light; they have never known its ways nor abided in its paths.

14 A la luz se levanta el matador, mata al pobre y al necesitado, Y de noche es como ladrón.

The murderer rises with the light, kills the poor and the needy, and in the night is as a thief.

15 E l ojo del adúltero está aguardando la noche, Diciendo: No me verá nadie: Y esconde su rostro.

The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me; and disguises his face.

16 E n las tinieblas minan las casas, Que de día para sí señalaron; No conocen la luz.

In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime; they do not know the light.

17 P orque la mañana es á todos ellos como sombra de muerte; Si son conocidos, terrores de sombra de muerte los toman.

For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death; if they are known, the terrors of the shadow of death come over them.

18 S on instables más que la superficie de las aguas; Su porción es maldita en la tierra; No andarán por el camino de las viñas.

¶ They are swift upon the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth; they never come by the way of the vineyards.

19 L a sequía y el calor arrebatan las aguas de la nieve; Y el sepulcro á los pecadores.

Drought and heat consume the snow waters; so does Sheol consume those who have sinned.

20 O lvidaráse de ellos el seno materno; de ellos sentirán los gusanos dulzura; Nunca más habrá de ellos memoria, Y como un árbol serán los impíos quebrantados.

The Merciful One shall forget them; the worm shall feed sweetly on them; they shall never be remembered again; and iniquity shall be broken as a tree.

21 A la mujer estéril que no paría, afligió; Y á la viuda nunca hizo bien.

He afflicted the barren woman that did not conceive and never did good unto the widow.

22 M as á los fuertes adelantó con su poder: Levantóse, y no se da por segura la vida.

He furthered the violent with his power; he did not lend to anyone in his life.

23 L e dieron á crédito, y se afirmó: Sus ojos están sobre los caminos de ellos.

If he gave credit to some to take them over, his eyes were upon their ways.

24 F ueron ensalzados por un poco, mas desaparecen, Y son abatidos como cada cual: serán encerrados, Y cortados como cabezas de espigas.

They were exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all others and cut off as the tops of the heads of grain.

25 Y si no, ¿quién me desmentirá ahora, O reducirá á nada mis palabras?

And if it is not so now, who will make me a liar or reduce my speech to nothing?