Psalm 10
New American Standard Bible
A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.
10 Why (A)do You stand far away, Lord?
Why (B)do You hide [a]Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In (C)arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the needy;
[b]Let them be (D)caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked (E)boasts of his (F)soul’s desire,
And [c]the greedy person curses and (G)shows disrespect to the Lord.
4 The wicked, [d]in his haughtiness, (H)does not seek Him.
(I)There is no God in all his schemes.
5 His ways (J)succeed at all times;
Yet Your judgments are on high, (K)out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he snorts at them.
6 He says to himself, “(L)I will not be moved;
[e]Throughout the generations (M)I will not be in adversity.”
7 His (N)mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and (O)oppression;
(P)Under his tongue is harm and injustice.
8 He sits in the (Q)lurking places of the villages;
He (R)kills the innocent in the secret places;
His eyes [f]surreptitiously watch for the [g](S)unfortunate.
9 He lurks in secret like (T)a lion in his [h]lair;
He (U)lurks to catch (V)the needy;
He catches the needy when he pulls him into his (W)net.
10 Then he crushes the needy one, who cowers;
And [i]unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.
11 He (X)says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
12 Arise, Lord; God, (Y)lift up Your hand.
(Z)Do not forget the humble.
13 Why has the wicked (AA)treated God disrespectfully?
He has said to himself, “[j]You will not require an account.”
14 You have seen it, for You have looked at (AB)harm and provocation to [k]take it into Your hand.
The [l](AC)unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the (AD)helper of the orphan.
15 (AE)Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
[m](AF)Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 The Lord is (AG)King forever and ever;
(AH)Nations have perished from His land.
17 Lord, You have heard the (AI)desire of the humble;
You will (AJ)strengthen their heart, (AK)You will make Your ear attentive
18 To [n]vindicate the (AL)orphan and the (AM)oppressed,
So that mankind, which is of the earth, will no longer cause (AN)terror.
Footnotes
- Psalm 10:1 Or Your eyes
- Psalm 10:2 Or They will be caught
- Psalm 10:3 Or blesses the greedy man
- Psalm 10:4 Lit the height of his nose
- Psalm 10:6 Lit To
- Psalm 10:8 Lit lie in wait
- Psalm 10:8 Or poor
- Psalm 10:9 Or thicket
- Psalm 10:10 Or unhappy
- Psalm 10:13 I.e., as though God will ignore it
- Psalm 10:14 Lit put, give
- Psalm 10:14 Or poor
- Psalm 10:15 Or May You seek
- Psalm 10:18 Lit judge
Psalm 10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 10
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
1 [a]Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(A)
3 For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart;
those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.(B)
4 In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”;
all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”(C)
5 Their ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of their sight;
as for their foes, they scoff at them.
6 They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved;
throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.”(D)
7 Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.(E)
8 They sit in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places they murder the innocent.
Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;(F)
9 they lurk in secret like a lion in its den;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.(G)
10 They stoop, they crouch,
and the helpless fall by their might.
11 They think in their heart, “God has forgotten;
he has hidden his face; he will never see it.”(H)
12 Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
do not forget the oppressed.(I)
13 Why do the wicked renounce God
and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?
14 But you do see! Indeed, you note trouble and grief,
that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
you have been the helper of the orphan.(J)
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
seek out their wickedness until you find none.(K)
16 The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations shall perish from his land.(L)
17 O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear(M)
18 to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
so that those from earth may strike terror no more.[b](N)
Footnotes
- 10.1 Psalms 9–10 were originally one psalm, as in the Greek and Latin traditions. In Hebrew, Psalms 9–10 formed an acrostic.
- 10.18 Meaning of Heb uncertain
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.