7 nWhy do the wicked live,
reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
8 Their offspring are established in their presence,
and their descendants before their eyes.
9 oTheir houses are safe from fear,
and no prod of God is upon them.
10 Their bull breeds without fail;
their cow calves and does qnot miscarry.
11 They send out their little boys like a flock,
and their children dance.
12 They sing to the tambourine and the lyre
and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
13 They spend their days in prosperity,
and in peace they go down to Sheol.
14 rThey say to God, ‘Depart from us!
We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.
15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
And swhat profit do we get if we pray to him?’
16 Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand?
The tcounsel of the wicked is far from me.
Jeremiah’s Complaint
1 Righteous are you, O Lord,
when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you.
qWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and produce fruit;
you are rnear in their mouth
and far from their heart.
