Psalm 10
Living Bible
10 Lord, why are you standing aloof and far away? Why do you hide when I need you the most?
2 Come and deal with all these proud and wicked men who viciously persecute the poor. Pour upon these men the evil they planned for others! 3 For these men brag of all their evil lusts; they revile God and congratulate those the Lord abhors, whose only goal in life is money.
4 These wicked men, so proud and haughty, seem to think that God is dead.[a] They wouldn’t think of looking for him! 5 Yet there is success in everything they do, and their enemies fall before them. They do not see your punishment awaiting them. 6 They boast that neither God nor man can ever keep them down—somehow they’ll find a way!
7 Their mouths are full of profanity and lies and fraud. They are always boasting of their evil plans. 8 They lurk in dark alleys of the city and murder passersby. 9 Like lions they crouch silently, waiting to pounce upon the poor. Like hunters they catch their victims in their traps. 10 The unfortunate are overwhelmed by their superior strength and fall beneath their blows. 11 “God isn’t watching,” they say to themselves; “he’ll never know!”
12 O Lord, arise! O God, crush them! Don’t forget the poor or anyone else in need. 13 Why do you let the wicked get away with this contempt for God? For they think that God will never call them to account. 14 Lord, you see what they are doing. You have noted each evil act. You know what trouble and grief they have caused. Now punish them. O Lord, the poor man trusts himself to you; you are known as the helper of the helpless. 15 Break the arms of these wicked men. Go after them until the last of them is destroyed.
16 The Lord is King forever and forever. Those who follow other gods shall be swept from his land.
17 Lord, you know the hopes of humble people. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort their hearts by helping them. 18 You will be with the orphans and all who are oppressed, so that mere earthly man will terrify them no longer.
Footnotes
- Psalm 10:4 that God is dead, literally, “that there is no God.”
Psalm 10
Modern English Version
Psalm 10
1 Why do You stand far off, O Lord?
Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked persecutes the poor;
let them be caught in the devices they have planned.
3 For the wicked boasts of his soul’s desire;
he blesses the greedy and despises the Lord.
4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek God;
God is not in all his thoughts.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
Your judgments are high and distant from him;
as for all his enemies, they scoff at him.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
for generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
in the secret places he murders the innocent;
his eyes lurk against the unfortunate.
9 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.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.