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Psalm 10

Why do You stand far off, O Lord?
    Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?

In arrogance the wicked persecutes the poor;
    let them be caught in the devices they have planned.
For the wicked boasts of his soul’s desire;
    he blesses the greedy and despises the Lord.
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek God;
    God is not in all his thoughts.
His ways are always prosperous;
    Your judgments are high and distant from him;
    as for all his enemies, they scoff at him.
He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
    for generations I shall not meet adversity.”

His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
    under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
    in the secret places he murders the innocent;
    his eyes lurk against the unfortunate.
He lies in wait secretly as a lion in his den;
    he lies in wait to catch the poor;
    he catches the poor, drawing them into his net.
10 He crouches; he lies low,
    so that the unfortunate fall by his strength.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten;
    He hides His face; He will never see it.”

12 Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand!
    Do not forget the humble.
13 Why do the wicked despise God?
    He says in his heart,
    “You will require an account.”
14 You have seen it, for You observe trouble and grief,
    to repay it with Your hand.
The unfortunate one entrusts it to You;
    You are the helper of the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
    seek out his wickedness
    until You find none.

16 The Lord is King forever and ever;
    the nations perished from His land.
17 The desire of the humble You have heard, O Lord;
    You make their heart attentive; You bend Your ear
18 to judge the orphan and the oppressed;
    man on earth no longer trembles.

Psalm 10[a]

Why, Lord, do you stand far off?(A)
    Why do you hide yourself(B) in times of trouble?

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,(C)
    who are caught in the schemes he devises.
He boasts(D) about the cravings of his heart;
    he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.(E)
In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
    in all his thoughts there is no room for God.(F)
His ways are always prosperous;
    your laws are rejected by[b] him;
    he sneers at all his enemies.
He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
    He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”(G)

His mouth is full(H) of lies and threats;(I)
    trouble and evil are under his tongue.(J)
He lies in wait(K) near the villages;
    from ambush he murders the innocent.(L)
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
    like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;(M)
    he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.(N)
10 His victims are crushed,(O) they collapse;
    they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;(P)
    he covers his face and never sees.”(Q)

12 Arise,(R) Lord! Lift up your hand,(S) O God.
    Do not forget the helpless.(T)
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?(U)
    Why does he say to himself,
    “He won’t call me to account”?(V)
14 But you, God, see the trouble(W) of the afflicted;
    you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;(X)
    you are the helper(Y) of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;(Z)
    call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
    that would not otherwise be found out.

16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;(AA)
    the nations(AB) will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;(AC)
    you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,(AD)
18 defending the fatherless(AE) and the oppressed,(AF)
    so that mere earthly mortals
    will never again strike terror.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 10:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
  2. Psalm 10:5 See Septuagint; Hebrew / they are haughty, and your laws are far from