Psalm 10
New Century Version
A Complaint About Evil People
10 Lord, why are you so far away?
Why do you hide when there is trouble?
2 Proudly the wicked chase down those who suffer.
Let them be caught in their own traps.
3 They brag about the things they want.
They bless the greedy but hate the Lord.
4 The wicked people are too proud.
They do not look for God;
there is no room for God in their thoughts.
5 They always succeed.
They are far from keeping your laws;
they make fun of their enemies.
6 They say to themselves, “Nothing bad will ever happen to me;
I will never be ruined.”
7 Their mouths are full of curses, lies, and threats;
they use their tongues for sin and evil.
8 They hide near the villages.
They look for innocent people to kill;
they watch in secret for the helpless.
9 They wait in hiding like a lion.
They wait to catch poor people;
they catch the poor in nets.
10 The poor are thrown down and crushed;
they are defeated because the others are stronger.
11 The wicked think, “God has forgotten us.
He doesn’t see what is happening.”
12 Lord, rise up and punish the wicked.
Don’t forget those who need help.
13 Why do wicked people hate God?
They say to themselves, “God won’t punish us.”
14 Lord, surely you see these cruel and evil things;
look at them and do something.
People in trouble look to you for help.
You are the one who helps the orphans.
15 Break the power of wicked people.
Punish them for the evil they have done.
16 The Lord is King forever and ever.
Destroy from your land those nations that do not worship you.
17 Lord, you have heard what the poor people want.
Do what they ask, and listen to them.
18 Protect the orphans and put an end to suffering
so they will no longer be afraid of evil people.
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
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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