Psalm 10

Need for God’s Justice

Lord,[a][b] why do you stand so far away?(A)
Why do you hide in times of trouble?(B)
In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(C)

For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;(D)
the one who is greedy curses[c] and despises the Lord.(E)
In all his scheming,
the wicked person arrogantly thinks,[d]
“There’s no accountability,
since there’s no God.”(F)
His ways are always secure;[e]
your lofty judgments have no effect on him;[f]
he scoffs at all his adversaries.(G)
He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation I will be without calamity.”(H)
Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.(I)
He waits in ambush near settlements;(J)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;(K)
he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize a victim;
he seizes a victim and drags him in his net.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
helpless people fall because of the wicked one’s strength.(L)
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
he hides his face and will never see.”(M)

12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up your hand.(N)
Do not forget the oppressed.(O)
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”(P)
14 But you yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into your hands.(Q)
The helpless one entrusts himself to you;
you are a helper of the fatherless.(R)
15 Break the arm of the wicked, evil person,(S)
until you look for his wickedness,
but it can’t be found.(T)

16 The Lord is King forever and ever;(U)
the nations will perish from his land.(V)
17 Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble;
you will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,(W)
18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that mere humans from the earth may terrify them no more.(X)

Psalm 11

Refuge in the Lord

For the choir director. Of David.

I have taken refuge in the Lord.(Y)
How can you say to me,
“Escape to the mountains[g] like a bird!(Z)
For look, the wicked string bows;
they put their arrows on bowstrings
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.(AA)
When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?” (AB)

The Lord is in his holy temple;(AC)
the Lord—his throne is in heaven.(AD)
His eyes watch;
his gaze[h] examines everyone.[i]
The Lord examines the righteous,
but he hates the wicked
and[j] those who love violence.(AE)
Let him rain burning coals[k] and sulfur on the wicked;
let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup.(AF)
For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds.
The upright will see his face.(AG)

Psalm 12

Oppression by the Wicked

For the choir director: according to Sheminith.(AH) A psalm of David.

Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.[l](AI)
They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.(AJ)
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.(AK)
They say, “Through our tongues we have power;
our lips are our own—who can be our master?” (AL)

“Because of the devastation of the needy
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will provide safety for the one who longs for it.”(AM)

The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times.(AN)

You, Lord, will guard us;[m]
you will protect us[n] from this generation forever.(AO)
The wicked prowl[o] all around,
and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.(AP)

Footnotes

  1. 10:1 Some Hb mss, LXX connect Pss 9–10.
  2. 10:1 Together Pss 9–10 form a partial acrostic.
  3. 10:3 Or he blesses the greedy
  4. 10:4 Lit wicked according to the height of his nose
  5. 10:5 Or prosperous
  6. 10:5 Lit judgments are away from in front of him
  7. 11:1 Lit your mountain
  8. 11:4 Lit eyelids
  9. 11:4 Or examines the descendants of Adam
  10. 11:5 Or righteous and the wicked, and he hates
  11. 11:6 Sym; MT reads rain snares, fire
  12. 12:1 Or the descendants of Adam, also in v. 8
  13. 12:7 Some Hb mss, LXX, Jer; other Hb mss read them
  14. 12:7 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read him
  15. 12:8 Lit walk about

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