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10 Why are you so distant, Lord?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

The wicked person arrogantly pursues oppressed people.
He will be caught in the schemes that he planned.
The wicked person boasts about his selfish desires.
He blesses robbers, but he curses the Lord.
He turns up his nose ⌞and says⌟, “God doesn’t care.”
His every thought ⌞concludes⌟, “There is no God.”
He always seems to succeed.
Your judgments are beyond his understanding.
He spits at all his opponents.
He says to himself, “Nothing can shake me.
I’ll never face any trouble.”
His mouth is full of cursing, deception, and oppression.
Trouble and wrongdoing are on the tip of his tongue.
He waits in ambush in the villages.
From his hiding places he kills innocent people.
His eyes are on the lookout for victims.
He lies in his hiding place like a lion in his den.
He hides there to catch oppressed people.
He catches oppressed people when he draws them into his net.
10 ⌞His⌟ victims are crushed.
They collapse,
and they fall under ⌞the weight of⌟ his power.
11 He says to himself,
“God has forgotten.
He has hidden his face.
He will never see it!”

12 Arise, O Lord!
Lift your hand, O God.
Do not forget oppressed people!
13 Why does the wicked person despise God?
Why does he say to himself, “God doesn’t care”?
14 You have seen ⌞it⌟; yes, you have taken note of trouble and grief
and placed them under your control.
The victim entrusts himself to you.
You alone have been the helper of orphans.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil person.
Punish his wickedness until you find no more.

16 The Lord is king forever and ever.
The nations have vanished from his land.
17 You have heard the desire of oppressed people, O Lord.
You encourage them.
You pay close attention to them
18 in order to provide justice for orphans and oppressed people
so that no mere mortal will terrify them again.

For the choir director; by David.

11 I have taken refuge in the Lord.
How can you say to me:
“Flee to your mountain like a bird?
Wicked people bend their bows.
They set their arrows against the strings
to shoot in the dark at people whose motives are decent.
When the foundations ⌞of life⌟ are undermined,
what can a righteous person do?”

The Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes see.
They examine Adam’s descendants.
The Lord tests righteous people,
but he hates wicked people and the ones who love violence.
He rains down fire and burning sulfur upon wicked people.
He makes them drink from a cup filled with scorching wind.
The Lord is righteous.
He loves a righteous way of life.
Decent people will see his face.

For the choir director; on the sheminith; a psalm by David.

12 Help, O Lord.
No godly person is left.
Faithful people have vanished from among Adam’s descendants!
All people speak foolishly.
They speak with flattering lips. They say one thing but mean another.
May the Lord cut off every flattering lip
and every bragging tongue
that has said,
“We will overcome with our tongues.
With lips such as ours, who can be our master?”

“Because oppressed people are robbed and needy people groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord.
“I will provide safety for those who long for it.”
The promises of the Lord are pure,
like silver refined in a furnace and purified seven times.
O Lord, you will protect them.
You will keep each one safe from those people forever.
Wicked people parade around
when immorality increases among Adam’s descendants.

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.

Psalm 11

For the director of music. Of David.

In the Lord I take refuge.(AG)
    How then can you say to me:
    “Flee(AH) like a bird to your mountain.(AI)
For look, the wicked bend their bows;(AJ)
    they set their arrows(AK) against the strings
to shoot from the shadows(AL)
    at the upright in heart.(AM)
When the foundations(AN) are being destroyed,
    what can the righteous do?”

The Lord is in his holy temple;(AO)
    the Lord is on his heavenly throne.(AP)
He observes everyone on earth;(AQ)
    his eyes examine(AR) them.
The Lord examines the righteous,(AS)
    but the wicked, those who love violence,
    he hates with a passion.(AT)
On the wicked he will rain
    fiery coals and burning sulfur;(AU)
    a scorching wind(AV) will be their lot.

For the Lord is righteous,(AW)
    he loves justice;(AX)
    the upright(AY) will see his face.(AZ)

Psalm 12[c]

For the director of music. According to sheminith.[d] A psalm of David.

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;(BA)
    those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
Everyone lies(BB) to their neighbor;
    they flatter with their lips
    but harbor deception in their hearts.(BC)

May the Lord silence all flattering lips(BD)
    and every boastful tongue—(BE)
those who say,
    “By our tongues we will prevail;(BF)
    our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

“Because the poor are plundered(BG) and the needy groan,(BH)
    I will now arise,(BI)” says the Lord.
    “I will protect them(BJ) from those who malign them.”
And the words of the Lord are flawless,(BK)
    like silver purified(BL) in a crucible,(BM)
    like gold[e] refined seven times.

You, Lord, will keep the needy safe(BN)
    and will protect us forever from the wicked,(BO)
who freely strut(BP) about
    when what is vile is honored by the human race.

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
  3. Psalm 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-8 is numbered 12:2-9.
  4. Psalm 12:1 Title: Probably a musical term
  5. Psalm 12:6 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text earth