Old Testament

Psalm 10
Psalm 10
Break the Arm of the Wicked Man
An Opening Appeal for Action
1Why, Lord, do you stand so far away?
Why do you hide in times of distress?
A Portrait of the Wicked
2Because of the pride of the wicked, the oppressed burn.[]
They are caught in the schemes that the wicked plan.
3Yes, the wicked man boasts about his heart's desires.
He blesses the robber. He despises the Lord.[]
4With his nose in the air, the wicked man does not seek God.
There is no room at all for God in his thoughts.
5His ways are prosperous all the time.
He is haughty. Your judgments do not concern him.
He snorts at all of his foes.
6He says in his heart, “I will not be shaken.
Through age after age I will have no trouble.”
7Cursing fills his mouth, along with lies and threats.
Trouble and evil lie under his tongue.
8He waits in ambush by the villages.
In hidden places he murders the innocent.
His eyes are spying on the helpless.
9He lies in ambush. He hides like a lion in a thicket.
He lies in ambush to catch the oppressed.
He catches the oppressed by dragging them in his net.
10The helpless are crushed. They sink down.
They fall under his strength.
11He says in his heart, “God has forgotten.
He hides his face. He never sees.”
An Appeal for Divine Justice
12Rise up, O Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the oppressed.
13Why does the wicked man despise God?
Why does he say in his heart,
“You do not seek justice”?
14But you do see. You notice trouble and grief.
You take it into your own hands.
The helpless one abandons himself to you.
For the fatherless you are indeed a helper.
15Break the arm of the wicked.
You pursue the wickedness of the evil man
until you find no more.[]
Confidence in Divine Justice
16The Lord is King forever and ever.
The nations will perish from his land.
17 Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted.
You strengthen their hearts,
and your ear pays attention,
18to obtain justice for the fatherless and the crushed,
so that the worldly man[] may no longer terrify.

Footnotes

  • 10:2 Or in pride the wicked burns for [that is, he hotly pursues] the oppressed
  • 10:3 With a different punctuation and reading of the Hebrew text the robber reviles the Lord
  • 10:15 Or which he thought you would not find
  • 10:18 Or mortal man