A Prayer for God to Throw down the Wicked
10 Why, O Yahweh, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide[a] during times of distress?
2 In arrogance the wicked persecutes[b] the poor.
Let them be caught in the schemes that they devised,
3 for the wicked boasts about the desire of his heart,[c]
and the one greedy for gain curses and treats Yahweh with contempt.
4 With bald-faced pride[d] the wicked will not seek God.
There is no God in any of his thoughts.
5 His ways[e] endure at all times.[f]
Your judgments are aloof from him.
As for all his enemies, he scoffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved
throughout all generations,[g] during which I will have no trouble.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing,
with deceits and oppression;
under his tongue are trouble and evil.
8 He sits in ambush in villages;
in the hiding places he kills the innocent.
His eyes lurk[h] for the helpless.
9 He lies in ambush secretly,[i] like a lion in a thicket.
He lies in ambush to seize the poor;
he seizes the poor by catching him in his net.
10 He is crushed;[j] he is bowed down;[k]
so[l] the helpless host[m] falls by his might.[n]
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten.
He has hidden his face.
He never sees.”
12 Rise up, O Yahweh;
O God, lift up your hand.
Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked treat God with contempt?
He says in his heart, “You will not call me to account.”
14 But you have seen; indeed you have noted trouble and grief
to take it into your hand.
The helpless abandons himself upon you;
you have been the helper for the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked,
and as for the evil man—
seek out his wickedness until you find none.
16 Yahweh is king forever and ever;
the nations have perished from his land.
17 The longing of the afflicted you have heard, O Yahweh.
You will make their heart secure. You will listen attentively[o]
18 to render judgment for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that a mere mortal from the earth will no longer cause terror.
Footnotes
- Psalm 10:1 Or “shut your eyes”
- Psalm 10:2 Or “pursues”
- Psalm 10:3 Literally “soul”
- Psalm 10:4 Literally “According to the height of his nose”
- Psalm 10:5 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
- Psalm 10:5 Hebrew “time”
- Psalm 10:6 Literally “for a generation and a generation”
- Psalm 10:8 Literally “lie hid”
- Psalm 10:9 Literally “in the secret places”
- Psalm 10:10 Or “and he the wicked stoops”
- Psalm 10:10 Or “he the wicked crouches”
- Psalm 10:10 Or “and”
- Psalm 10:10 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
- Psalm 10:10 Literally “mighty ones”
- Psalm 10:17 Literally “cause your ear to hear”