1 Woe to those who make unjust laws,

to those who issue oppressive decrees,

2 to deprive the poor of their rights

and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,

making widows their prey

and robbing the fatherless.

3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,

when disaster comes from afar?

To whom will you run for help?

Where will you leave your riches?

4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives

or fall among the slain.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.

1 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees,

And that write grievousness which they have prescribed;

2 To turn aside the needy from judgment,

And to take away the right from the poor of my people,

That widows may be their prey,

And that they may rob the fatherless!

3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation,

And in the desolation which shall come from far?

To whom will ye flee for help?

And where will ye leave your glory?

4 Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners,

And they shall fall under the slain.

For all this his anger is not turned away,

But his hand is stretched out still.

1 What sorrow awaits the unjust judges

and those who issue unfair laws.

2 They deprive the poor of justice

and deny the rights of the needy among my people.

They prey on widows

and take advantage of orphans.

3 What will you do when I punish you,

when I send disaster upon you from a distant land?

To whom will you turn for help?

Where will your treasures be safe?

4 You will stumble along as prisoners

or lie among the dead.

But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.

His fist is still poised to strike.

1 “Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees,

Who write misfortune,

Which they have prescribed

2 To rob the needy of justice,

And to take what is right from the poor of My people,

That widows may be their prey,

And that they may rob the fatherless.

3 What will you do in the day of punishment,

And in the desolation which will come from afar?

To whom will you flee for help?

And where will you leave your glory?

4 Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners,

And they shall fall among the slain.”

For all this His anger is not turned away,

But His hand is stretched out still.

1 How terrible it will be for those who make unfair laws,

and those who write laws that make life hard for people.

2 They are not fair to the poor,

and they rob my people of their rights.

They allow people to steal from widows

and to take from orphans what really belongs to them.

3 How will you explain the things you have done?

What will you do when your destruction comes from far away?

Where will you run for help?

Where will you hide your riches then?

4 You will have to bow down among the captives

or fall down among the dead bodies.

But the Lord is still angry;

his hand is still raised to strike down the people.

1 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness; 2 to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! 3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? 4 They shall only bow down under the prisoners, and shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

1 Woe unto them that decree iniquitous decrees, and to the writers that prescribe oppression, 2 to turn away the poor from judgment, and to take away the right from the afflicted of my people; that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! 3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the sudden destruction which shall come from far? To whom will ye flee for help, and where will ye leave your glory? 4 They can but crouch under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.

1 How horrible it will be for those who make unjust laws 

and who make oppressive regulations. 

2 They deprive the poor of justice. 

They take away the rights of the needy among my people. 

They prey on widows and rob orphans. 

3 What will you do on the day 

you are called to account ⸤for these things⸥, 

when the disaster comes from far away? 

Where will you run for help? 

Where will you leave your wealth? 

4 Nothing’s left but to crouch among prisoners 

and to fall with those who are killed. 

Even after all this, his anger will not disappear, 

and he is still ready to use his power. 

1 Woe to those enacting crooked statutes

and writing oppressive laws

2 to keep the poor from getting a fair trial

and to deprive the afflicted among my people of justice,

so that widows can be their spoil

and they can plunder the fatherless.

3 What will you do on the day of punishment

when devastation comes from far away?

Who will you run to for help?

Where will you leave your wealth?

4 There will be nothing to do

except crouch among the prisoners

or fall among the slain.

In all this, His anger is not removed,

and His hand is still raised to strike.

1 Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees,

who write oppressive statutes,

2 to turn aside the needy from justice

and to rob the poor of my people of their right,

that widows may be your spoil,

and that you may make the orphans your prey!

3 What will you do on the day of punishment,

in the calamity that will come from far away?

To whom will you flee for help,

and where will you leave your wealth,

4 so as not to crouch among the prisoners

or fall among the slain?

For all this his anger has not turned away;

his hand is stretched out still.

1 Ah! Those who decree decrees of evil,

and writers who have written harm,

2 to guide the needy away from legal claims,

and to rob the justice from the poor of my people,

to make widows their spoil;

and they plunder orphans.

3 And what will you do at the day of punishment,

and at calamity? It comes from afar!

To whom will you flee for help,

and where will you leave your wealth,

4 save that they bow down under the prisoners

and fall under the slain?

In all of this his anger has not turned away,

and still his hand is stretched out.

1 How terrible it will be for you

who make laws that aren’t fair!

How terrible for you

who write laws that make life hard for others!

2 You take away the rights of poor people.

You hold back what is fair from my people who are suffering.

You take for yourselves what belongs to widows.

You rob children whose fathers have died.

3 What will you do on the day when the Lord punishes you?

On that day trouble will come from far away.

Who will you run to for help?

Who will you trust your riches with?

4 All you can do is bow down in fear among the prisoners.

All you can do is fall among those who have died in battle.

Even then, the Lord is still angry.

His hand is still raised against them.

1 Woe to those who enact evil statutes

And to those who constantly record unjust decisions,

2 So as to deprive the needy of justice

And rob the poor of My people of their rights,

So that widows may be their spoil

And that they may plunder the orphans.

3 Now what will you do in the day of punishment,

And in the devastation which will come from afar?

To whom will you flee for help?

And where will you leave your wealth?

4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the captives

Or fall among the slain.

In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away

And His hand is still stretched out.