Job 15:20-35

15:20 All his days the wicked man suffers torment,

throughout the number of the years

that are stored up for the tyrant.

15:21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;

in a time of peace marauders attack him.

15:22 He does not expect to escape from darkness;

he is marked for the sword;

15:23 he wanders about – food for vultures;

he knows that the day of darkness is at hand.

15:24 Distress and anguish terrify him;

they prevail against him

like a king ready to launch an attack,

15:25 for he stretches out his hand against God,

and vaunts himself against the Almighty,

15:26 defiantly charging against him

with a thick, strong shield!

15:27 Because he covered his face with fat,

and made his hips bulge with fat,

15:28 he lived in ruined towns

and in houses where no one lives,

where they are ready to crumble into heaps.

15:29 He will not grow rich,

and his wealth will not endure,

nor will his possessions spread over the land.

15:30 He will not escape the darkness;

a flame will wither his shoots

and he will depart

by the breath of God’s mouth.

15:31 Let him not trust in what is worthless,

deceiving himself;

for worthlessness will be his reward.

15:32 Before his time he will be paid in full,

and his branches will not flourish.

15:33 Like a vine he will let his sour grapes fall,

and like an olive tree

he will shed his blossoms.

15:34 For the company of the godless is barren,

and fire consumes the tents of those who accept bribes.

15:35 They conceive trouble and bring forth evil;

their belly prepares deception.”

Job 20:19-29

20:19 For he has oppressed the poor and abandoned them;

he has seized a house which he did not build.

20:20 For he knows no satisfaction in his appetite;

he does not let anything he desires escape.

20:21 “Nothing is left for him to devour;

that is why his prosperity does not last.

20:22 In the fullness of his sufficiency,

distress overtakes him.

the full force of misery will come upon him.

20:23 “While he is filling his belly,

God sends his burning anger against him,

and rains down his blows upon him.

20:24 If he flees from an iron weapon,

then an arrow from a bronze bow pierces him.

20:25 When he pulls it out and it comes out of his back,

the gleaming point out of his liver,

terrors come over him.

20:26 Total darkness waits to receive his treasures;

a fire which has not been kindled

will consume him

and devour what is left in his tent.

20:27 The heavens reveal his iniquity;

the earth rises up against him.

20:28 A flood will carry off his house,

rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath.

20:29 Such is the lot God allots the wicked,

and the heritage of his appointment from God.”

Psalms 12:5

12:5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed,

because of the painful cries of the needy,

I will spring into action,” says the Lord.

“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”

Proverbs 22:22-23

22:22 Do not exploit a poor person because he is poor

and do not crush the needy in court,

22:23 for the Lord will plead their case

and will rob those who are robbing them.

Malachi 3:5

3:5 “I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the immigrant and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.

James 5:4-6

5:4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 5:6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.