Psalm 10:1–18

¹Why, Lord, do you stand far off?^z

Why do you hide yourself^a in times of trouble?

²In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,^b

who are caught in the schemes he devises.

³He boasts^c about the cravings of his heart;

he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.^d

⁴In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;

in all his thoughts there is no room for God.^e

⁵His ways are always prosperous;

your laws are rejected by^b him;

he sneers at all his enemies.

⁶He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”

He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”^f

⁷His mouth is full^g of lies and threats;^h

trouble and evil are under his tongue.ⁱ

⁸He lies in wait^j near the villages;

from ambush he murders the innocent.^k

His eyes watch in secret for his victims;

⁹like a lion in cover he lies in wait.

He lies in wait to catch the helpless;^l

he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.^m

¹⁰His victims are crushed,ⁿ they collapse;

they fall under his strength.

¹¹He says to himself, “God will never notice;^o

he covers his face and never sees.”^p

¹²Arise,^q Lord! Lift up your hand,^r O God.

Do not forget the helpless.^s

¹³Why does the wicked man revile God?^t

Why does he say to himself,

“He won’t call me to account”?^u

¹⁴But you, God, see the trouble^v of the afflicted;

you consider their grief and take it in hand.

The victims commit themselves to you;^w

you are the helper^x of the fatherless.

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked man;^y

call the evildoer to account for his wickedness

that would not otherwise be found out.

¹⁶The Lord is King for ever and ever;^z

the nations^a will perish from his land.

¹⁷You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;^b

you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,^c

¹⁸defending the fatherless^d and the oppressed,^e

so that mere earthly mortals

will never again strike terror.