Psalms — Chapter 10
Loading ESV text...
1Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?
2In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise.
3For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
4In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his schemes there is no God.
5He is secure in his ways at all times; Your lofty judgments are far from him; he sneers at all his foes.
6He says to himself, “I will not be moved; from age to age I am free of distress.”
7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue.
8He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless.
9He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net.
10They are crushed and beaten down; the helpless fall prey to his strength.
11He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.”
12Arise, O LORD! Lift up Your hand, O God! Do not forget the helpless.
13Why has the wicked man renounced God? He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.”
14But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
15Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call him to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found.
16The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations perish from His land.
17You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will incline Your ear,
18to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed, that the men of the earth may strike terror no more.
1Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
2The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
3For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
4The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
5His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
6He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.
7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
8He 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.
9He 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.
10He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
11He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
12Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
13Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
14Thou 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.
15Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
17LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
18To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
1Why standest thou afar off, O Jehovah? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
2In the pride of the wicked the poor is hotly pursued; Let them be taken in the devices that they have conceived.
3For the wicked boasteth of his heart`s desire, And the covetous renounceth, [yea], contemneth Jehovah.
4The wicked, in the pride of his countenance, [saith], He will not require [it]. All his thoughts are, There is no God.
5His ways are firm at all times; Thy judgments are far above out of his sight: As for all his adversaries, he puffeth at them.
6He saith in his heart, I shall not be moved; To all generations I shall not be in adversity.
7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression: Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
8He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages; In the secret places doth he murder the innocent; His eyes are privily set against the helpless.
9He 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.
10He croucheth, he boweth down, And the helpless fall by his strong ones.
11He saith in his heart, God hath forgotten; He hideth his face; he will never see it.
12Arise, O Jehovah; O God, lift up thy hand: Forget not the poor.
13Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God, And say in his heart, Thou wilt not require [it]?
14Thou hast seen [it]; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: The helpless committeth [himself] unto thee; Thou hast been the helper of the fatherless.
15Break thou the arm of the wicked; And as for the evil man, seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16Jehovah is King for ever and ever: The nations are perished out of his land.
17Jehovah, thou hast heard the desire of the meek: Thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear;
18To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, That man who is of the earth may be terrible no more. Psalm 11 For the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David.
1Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you pay no attention during times of trouble?
2The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed; the oppressed are trapped by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up.
3Yes, the wicked man boasts because he gets what he wants; the one who robs others curses and rejects the Lord.
4The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks, “God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”
5He is secure at all times. He has no regard for your commands; he disdains all his enemies.
6He says to himself, “I will never be shaken, because I experience no calamity.”
7His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words; his tongue injures and destroys.
8He waits in ambush near the villages; in hidden places he kills the innocent. His eyes look for some unfortunate victim.
9He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket. He lies in ambush, waiting to catch the oppressed; he catches the oppressed by pulling in his net.
10His victims are crushed and beaten down; they are trapped in his sturdy nets.
11He says to himself, “God overlooks it; he does not pay attention; he never notices.”
12Rise up, Lord! O God, strike him down. Do not forget the oppressed.
13Why does the wicked man reject God? He says to himself, “You will not hold me accountable.”
14You have taken notice, for you always see one who inflicts pain and suffering. The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you; you deliver the fatherless.
15Break the arm of the wicked and evil man. Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds, which he thought you would not discover.
16The Lord rules forever! The nations are driven out of his land.
17Lord, you have heard the request of the oppressed; you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer.
18You defend the fatherless and oppressed, so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them.
1Why do you stand far off, Yahweh? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak. They are caught in the schemes that they devise.
3For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings. He blesses the greedy, and condemns Yahweh.
4The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room in his thoughts for God.
5His ways are prosperous at all times. He is haughty, and your laws are far from his sight. As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them.
6He says in his heart, “I shall not be shaken. For generations I shall have no trouble.”
7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression. Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
8He lies in wait near the villages. From ambushes, he murders the innocent. His eyes are secretly set against the helpless.
9He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush. He lies in wait to catch the helpless. He catches the helpless, when he draws him in his net.
10The helpless are crushed. They collapse. They fall under his strength.
11He says in his heart, “God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will never see it.”
12Arise, Yahweh! God, lift up your hand! Don’t forget the helpless.
13Why does the wicked person condemn God, and say in his heart, “God won’t call me into account?”
14But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless.
15Break the arm of the wicked. As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none.
16Yahweh is King forever and ever! The nations will perish out of his land.
17Yahweh, you have heard the desire of the humble. You will prepare their heart. You will cause your ear to hear,
18to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.
Summary
A lament that continues Psalm 9's acrostic pattern, wrestling with why God seems distant while the wicked prosper. The psalmist describes the wicked pursuing the poor, boasting in greed, and arrogantly assuming that God does not see or will never call them to account (vv. 1-6). Their speech is full of cursing and deceit, and they lie in ambush to prey on the helpless and innocent, convinced God has hidden his face and forgotten (vv. 7-11). The psalmist pleads for God to rise up, not forget the afflicted, and break the power of the wicked, since the helpless commit themselves to him (vv. 12-15). The psalm ends in confidence that the LORD is king forever, that he hears the desire of the afflicted, and that he will defend orphans and the oppressed so that no one on earth can terrify them further (vv. 16-18)
Authorship & Background
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Verse-by-verse commentary on this chapter, written for the everyday reader and freely available online.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of Psalms -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Asking "Why?" Is a Prayer, Not a Sin (v.1) — The psalmist openly asks why God seems distant while the wicked prosper. Are you willing to bring your honest confusion about God's apparent silence directly to Him?
- The Danger of Practical Atheism (v.4) — The wicked do not deny God exists so much as live as if He does not matter to their daily choices. Is there an area of your life, finances, decisions, ambitions, where you functionally leave God out?
- Nothing Escapes God's Notice (v.14) — Though the oppressor assumes God has forgotten, the psalmist affirms that God has seen every hidden wrong. Does it comfort or unsettle you to know that nothing you do or endure goes unseen by God?
- Earthly Power Has an Expiration Date (v.18) — The psalm closes with confidence that oppressors, described as merely of the earth, will no longer strike terror. Where do you need to remember that the power intimidating you now is not permanent?