מַדּוּעַ מִשַּׁדַּי לֹא נִצְפְּנוּ עִתִּים וְיֹדְעָיו לֹא חָזוּ יָמָיו: גְּבֻלוֹת יַשִּׂיגוּ עֵדֶר גָּזְלוּ וַיִּרְעוּ: חֲמוֹר יְתוֹמִים יִנְהָגוּ יַחְבְּלוּ שׁוֹר אַלְמָנָה: יַטּוּ אֶבְיוֹנִים מִדָּרֶךְ יַחַד חֻבְּאוּ עֲנִיֵּי אָרֶץ:
Why are times for judgment not reserved by Shaddai? Even those close to God cannot foresee God's actions. People remove boundary-stones; they carry off flocks and pasture them; they lead away the donkeys of the widow, and seize the widow's bull as a pledge; they chase the needy off the roads; all the poor of the land are forced into hiding.
[JPS translation. Edited for gender neutrality]
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. What are the crimes listed here? Whom do they target?
2. Why is the widow included with the needy and poor? What does this teach us about women's rights in traditional Jewish texts?
Time Period: Biblical (early ancestors to 165 BCE)