Psalm 10
Authorized (King James) Version
Psalm 10
1 Why standest thou afar off, O Lord?
why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
2 The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor:
let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire,
and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.
4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God:
God is not in all his thoughts.
5 His ways are always grievous;
thy judgments are far above out of his sight:
as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved:
for I shall never be in adversity.
7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud:
under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
8 He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages:
in the secret places doth he murder the innocent:
his eyes are privily set against the poor.
9 He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den:
he lieth in wait to catch the poor:
he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
10 He croucheth, and humbleth himself,
that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
11 He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten:
he hideth his face; he will never see it.
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand:
forget not the humble.
13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God?
he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
14 Thou hast seen it;
for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand:
the poor committeth himself unto thee;
thou art the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man:
seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever:
the heathen are perished out of his land.
17 Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble:
thou wilt prepare their heart,
thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
18 to judge the fatherless and the oppressed,
that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
Psalm 10
American Standard Version
A prayer for the overthrow of the wicked.
10 Why standest thou afar off, O Jehovah?
Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
2 In the pride of the wicked [a]the poor [b]is hotly pursued;
[c]Let them be taken in the devices that they have conceived.
3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire,
And [d]the covetous renounceth, yea, [e]contemneth Jehovah.
4 The wicked, in the pride of his countenance, saith, He will not require it.
All his thoughts are, There is no God.
5 His ways are [f]firm at all times;
Thy judgments are far above out of his sight:
As for all his adversaries, he puffeth at them.
6 He saith in his heart, I shall not be moved;
To all generations I shall not be in adversity.
7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and [g]oppression:
Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
8 He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages;
In the secret places doth he murder the innocent;
His eyes are privily set against the [h]helpless.
9 He lurketh in secret as a lion in his covert;
He lieth in wait to catch the poor:
He doth catch the poor, when he draweth him in his net.
10 [i]He croucheth, he boweth down,
And the [j]helpless fall by his strong ones.
11 He saith in his heart: God hath forgotten;
He hideth his face, he will never see it.
12 Arise, O Jehovah; O God, lift up thy hand:
Forget not the [k]poor.
13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God,
And say in his heart, Thou wilt not require it?
14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest [l]mischief and spite, [m]to requite it with thy hand:
The [n]helpless committeth himself unto thee;
Thou hast been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break thou the arm of the wicked;
And as for the evil man, seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16 Jehovah is King for ever and ever:
The [o]nations are perished out of his land.
17 Jehovah, thou hast heard the desire of the meek:
Thou wilt [p]prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear;
18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed,
That man who is of the earth may be terrible no more.
Footnotes
- Psalm 10:2 Or, he doth hotly pursue the poor
- Psalm 10:2 Hebrew is set on fire.
- Psalm 10:2 Or, They are taken
- Psalm 10:3 Or, blesseth the covetous, but contemneth etc.
- Psalm 10:3 Or, revileth
- Psalm 10:5 Or, grievous
- Psalm 10:7 Or, fraud
- Psalm 10:8 Or, hapless
- Psalm 10:10 Another reading is, And being crushed.
- Psalm 10:10 Or, hapless
- Psalm 10:12 Or, meek
- Psalm 10:14 Or, travail and grief
- Psalm 10:14 Or, to take it into thy hand
- Psalm 10:14 Or, hapless
- Psalm 10:16 Or, heathen
- Psalm 10:17 Or, establish
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.
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