I once knew someone wicked who was a tyrant; he towered over everyone like a cedar of Lebanon;

"Look, here is someone who did not depend on God for safety, but trusted instead in great wealth and looked for security in being wicked."

" LORD, if I argued my case with you, you would prove to be right. Yet I must question you about matters of justice. Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why do dishonest people succeed?

You plant them, and they take root; they grow and bear fruit. They always speak well of you, yet they do not really care about you.

"There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day.

And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you!

Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches in these last days.

save me from those who in this life have all they want. Punish them with the sufferings you have stored up for them; may there be enough for their children and some left over for their children's children!

Don't put your trust in violence; don't hope to gain anything by robbery; even if your riches increase, don't depend on them.

They will devour your crops and your food; they will kill your sons and your daughters. They will slaughter your flocks and your herds and destroy your vines and fig trees. The fortified cities in which you trust will be destroyed by their army.

why they are fat and well fed. There is no limit to their evil deeds. They do not give orphans their rights or show justice to the oppressed.

The LORD says, "The people of Israel are as dishonest as the Canaanites; they love to cheat their customers with false scales.

'We are rich,' they say. 'We've made a fortune. And no one can accuse us of getting rich dishonestly.'