25 verses
Job laments the rampant injustice inflicted on the poor and fatherless, noting how the wicked prosper at their expense and questioning God's apparent silence amid such suffering.
Job begins by accusing the wicked of violently taking flocks, stealing from widows and the fatherless, and exploiting the vulnerable. He paints a vivid picture of how the poor are forced to live naked, shivering in the wilderness while the oppressors enjoy their plunder. Job describes the temporary glory of the wicked, who seem to thrive in darkness and even commit murder under the cover of night. He remarks that their prosperity is fleeting, and that they too will be cut down as swiftly as crops are harvested. Throughout, Job questions why God does not intervene to stop the injustice and who would be a liar if he did not speak against the wicked. He concludes with a rhetorical plea, asking who could make him a liar and diminish his voice.
negative
The passage critiques the moral failure of the wicked and expresses sorrow over perceived divine inaction.