Psalms 10

 

Psalms 10

 

¹ Why, LORD, do you stand far off?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

 

² In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.

 

³ He boasts about the cravings of his heart;

he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

 

⁴ In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

 

⁵ His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies.

 

⁶ He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.” He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”

 

⁷ His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.

 

⁸ He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his victims;

 

⁹ like a lion in cover he lies in wait. He lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

 

¹⁰ His victims are crushed, they collapse;

they fall under his strength.

 

¹¹ He says to himself, “God will never notice;

he covers his face and never sees.”

 

¹² Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.  Do not forget the helpless.

 

¹³ Why does the wicked man revile God?

Why does he say to himself, “He won’t call me to account”?

 

¹⁴ But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;

you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

 

¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out.

 

¹⁶ The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.

 

¹⁷ You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted;

you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

 

¹⁸ defending the fatherless and the oppressed,

so that mere earthly mortals

will never again strike terror.