Psalm 10
New King James Version
A Song of Confidence in God’s Triumph over Evil
10 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
2 The wicked in his pride [a]persecutes the poor;
(A)Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked (B)boasts of his heart’s desire;
[b]He (C)blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.
4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
[c]God is in none of his (D)thoughts.
5 His ways [d]are always prospering;
Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
6 (E)He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
(F)I shall never be in adversity.”
7 (G)His mouth is full of cursing and (H)deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.
8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 So [e]he crouches, he lies low,
That the helpless may fall by his [f]strength.
11 He has said in his heart,
“God has forgotten;
He hides His face;
He will never see.”
12 Arise, O Lord!
O God, (I)lift up Your hand!
Do not forget the (J)humble.
13 Why do the wicked renounce God?
He has said in his heart,
“You will not require an account.”
14 But You have (K)seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand.
The helpless (L)commits[g] himself to You;
(M)You are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 (N)The Lord is King forever and ever;
The nations have perished out of His land.
17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear,
18 To [h]do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may [i]oppress no more.
Footnotes
- Psalm 10:2 hotly pursues
- Psalm 10:3 Or The greedy man curses and spurns the Lord
- Psalm 10:4 Or All his thoughts are, “There is no God”
- Psalm 10:5 Lit. are strong
- Psalm 10:10 Or he is crushed, is bowed
- Psalm 10:10 Or mighty ones
- Psalm 10:14 Lit. leaves, entrusts
- Psalm 10:18 vindicate
- Psalm 10:18 terrify
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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.