Psalms 10

1 Why, YHWH, do You stand at a distance? Do You hide in times of adversity?

Lord, why are you so distant? Why do you hide from me in times of trouble?

2 Through the pride of the wicked, Is the poor inflamed, They are caught in schemes that they devised.

The wicked chase down the poor with impunity. May they be trapped by the evil schemes they themselves invented.

3 Because the wicked has boasted Of the desire of his soul, And he has blessed a dishonest gainer, He has despised YHWH.

For the wicked boast about what they want to do. They praise the greedy, but treat the Lord with contempt.

4 The wicked does not inquire according to the height of his face. “There is no God!” [are] all his schemes.

The wicked are too proud to come to God. In all their thinking they never consider God.

5 His ways writhe at all times, Your judgments [are] on high before him, All his adversaries—he puffs at them.

What they do always seems to go well. They're unaware of God's judgments. They ridicule all their enemies.

6 He has said in his heart, “I am not moved, [And am] not in calamity to generation and generation.”

They tell themselves, “Nothing bad is going to happen to me. I'll never be in trouble!”

7 His mouth is full of oaths, And deceits, and fraud: Under his tongue [is] perverseness and iniquity,

Their speech is full of cursing, lies, and threats; their tongues are always ready to spread trouble and cause evil.

8 He sits in an ambush of the villages, He slays the innocent in secret places. His eyes secretly watch for the afflicted,

They hide out in ambush in the villages, ready to kill innocent passers-by. They are always on the lookout for their next victim.

9 He lies in wait in a secret place, as a lion in a covert. He lies in wait to catch the poor, He catches the poor, drawing him into his net.

They lie in ambush like a lion ready to attack, ready to leap out from their hiding place to seize their victim. They capture the helpless, throwing a net over them.

10 He is bruised—he bows down, The afflicted has fallen by his mighty ones.

Their victims are knocked down, laid low. They fall under the strength of the wicked.

11 He said in his heart, “God has forgotten, He has hid His face, He has never seen.”

They tell themselves, “God won't notice. He's looking the other way. He won't ever see anything.”

12 Arise, O YHWH! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble.

Take a stand, Lord! Raise your hand to strike! Don't forget those who can't defend themselves.

13 Why has the wicked despised God? He has said in his heart, “It is not required.”

Why do the wicked think they can treat God with such contempt? Why do they think that God won't make them accountable?

14 You have seen, For You behold perverseness and anger; By giving into Your hand, The afflicted leave [it] on You, You have been a helper of the fatherless.

But you do see the trouble and grief they cause. Take it into your own hands. The helpless trust in you; you defend the orphans.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil, Seek out his wickedness, find none;

Destroy the power of the wicked, those evil people! Call each of them to account until there are none left!

16 YHWH [is] King for all time and forever, The nations have perished out of His land!

Lord, you are King forever and ever! The nations will vanish from their lands.

17 You have heard the desire of the humble, O YHWH. You prepare their heart; You cause Your ear to attend,

Lord, you have heard the longing cries of those who are suffering. You will encourage them, for you will listen to them.

18 To judge the fatherless and bruised: He adds no more to oppress—man of the earth!

You will defend the rights of orphans and the oppressed so that those who are mere human beings here on earth will never terrorize them again.