Psalms 10
1 Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? [why] hidest thou [thyself] in times of trouble?
Lord, why are you so distant? Why do you hide from me 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.
The wicked chase down the poor with impunity. May they be trapped by the evil schemes they themselves invented.
3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, [whom] the LORD abhorreth.
For the wicked boast about what they want to do. They praise the greedy, but treat the Lord with contempt.
4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek [after God]: God [is] not in all his thoughts.
The wicked are too proud to come to God. In all their thinking they never consider God.
5 His ways are always grievous; thy judgments [are] far above out of his sight: [as for] all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
What they do always seems to go well. They're unaware of God's judgments. They ridicule all their enemies.
6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for [I shall] never [be] in adversity.
They tell themselves, “Nothing bad is going to happen to me. I'll never be in trouble!”
7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue [is] mischief and vanity.
Their speech is full of cursing, lies, and threats; their tongues are always ready to spread trouble and cause evil.
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.
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 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.
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 croucheth, [and] humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
Their victims are knocked down, laid low. They fall under the strength of the wicked.
11 He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see [it].
They tell themselves, “God won't notice. He's looking the other way. He won't ever see anything.”
12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thy hand: forget not the humble.
Take a stand, Lord! Raise your hand to strike! Don't forget those who can't defend themselves.
13 Why doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require [it].
Why do the wicked think they can treat God with such contempt? Why do they think that God won't make them accountable?
14 Thou hast seen [it]; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite [it] with thy hand: the poor committeth himself to thee; thou art the 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 thou the arm of the wicked and the evil [man]: seek out his wickedness [till] thou shalt find none.
Destroy the power of the wicked, those evil people! Call each of them to account until there are none left!
16 The LORD [is] King for ever and ever: the heathen have perished out of his land.
Lord, you are King forever and ever! The nations will vanish from their lands.
17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thy ear to hear:
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 the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
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.
