A Song of Confidence in God’s Triumph over Evil

10 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
The wicked in his pride [a]persecutes the poor;
(A)Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

For the wicked (B)boasts of his heart’s desire;
[b]He (C)blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.
The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
[c]God is in none of his (D)thoughts.

His ways [d]are always prospering;
Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
(E)He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
(F)I shall never be in adversity.”
(G)His mouth is full of cursing and (H)deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.

He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 So [e]he crouches, he lies low,
That the helpless may fall by his [f]strength.
11 He has said in his heart,
“God has forgotten;
He hides His face;
He will never see.”

12 Arise, O Lord!
O God, (I)lift up Your hand!
Do not forget the (J)humble.
13 Why do the wicked renounce God?
He has said in his heart,
“You will not require an account.

14 But You have (K)seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand.
The helpless (L)commits[g] himself to You;
(M)You are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

16 (N)The Lord is King forever and ever;
The nations have perished out of His land.
17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear,
18 To [h]do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may [i]oppress no more.

Faith in the Lord’s Righteousness

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

11 In (O)the Lord I put my trust;
How can you say to my soul,
“Flee as a bird to your mountain”?
For look! (P)The wicked bend their bow,
They make ready their arrow on the string,
That they may shoot [j]secretly at the upright in heart.
(Q)If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?

The Lord is in His holy temple,
The Lord’s (R)throne is in heaven;
(S)His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.
The Lord (T)tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
Upon the wicked He will rain coals;
Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
(U)Shall be [k]the portion of their cup.

For the Lord is righteous,
He (V)loves righteousness;
[l]His countenance beholds the upright.

Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy

To the Chief Musician. (W)On [m]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.

12 Help,[n] Lord, for the godly man (X)ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
(Y)They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and [o]a double heart they speak.

May the Lord [p]cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks [q]proud things,
Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”

“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

The words of the Lord are (Z)pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 10:2 hotly pursues
  2. Psalm 10:3 Or The greedy man curses and spurns the Lord
  3. Psalm 10:4 Or All his thoughts are, “There is no God”
  4. Psalm 10:5 Lit. are strong
  5. Psalm 10:10 Or he is crushed, is bowed
  6. Psalm 10:10 Or mighty ones
  7. Psalm 10:14 Lit. leaves, entrusts
  8. Psalm 10:18 vindicate
  9. Psalm 10:18 terrify
  10. Psalm 11:2 Lit. in darkness
  11. Psalm 11:6 Their allotted portion or serving
  12. Psalm 11:7 Or The upright beholds His countenance
  13. Psalm 12:1 Heb. sheminith
  14. Psalm 12:1 Save
  15. Psalm 12:2 An inconsistent mind
  16. Psalm 12:3 destroy
  17. Psalm 12:3 great

Psalm 10[a]

Why, Lord, do you stand far off?(A)
    Why do you hide yourself(B) in times of trouble?

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,(C)
    who are caught in the schemes he devises.
He boasts(D) about the cravings of his heart;
    he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.(E)
In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
    in all his thoughts there is no room for God.(F)
His ways are always prosperous;
    your laws are rejected by[b] him;
    he sneers at all his enemies.
He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
    He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”(G)

His mouth is full(H) of lies and threats;(I)
    trouble and evil are under his tongue.(J)
He lies in wait(K) near the villages;
    from ambush he murders the innocent.(L)
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
    like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;(M)
    he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.(N)
10 His victims are crushed,(O) they collapse;
    they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;(P)
    he covers his face and never sees.”(Q)

12 Arise,(R) Lord! Lift up your hand,(S) O God.
    Do not forget the helpless.(T)
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?(U)
    Why does he say to himself,
    “He won’t call me to account”?(V)
14 But you, God, see the trouble(W) of the afflicted;
    you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;(X)
    you are the helper(Y) of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;(Z)
    call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
    that would not otherwise be found out.

16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;(AA)
    the nations(AB) will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;(AC)
    you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,(AD)
18 defending the fatherless(AE) and the oppressed,(AF)
    so that mere earthly mortals
    will never again strike terror.

Psalm 11

For the director of music. Of David.

In the Lord I take refuge.(AG)
    How then can you say to me:
    “Flee(AH) like a bird to your mountain.(AI)
For look, the wicked bend their bows;(AJ)
    they set their arrows(AK) against the strings
to shoot from the shadows(AL)
    at the upright in heart.(AM)
When the foundations(AN) are being destroyed,
    what can the righteous do?”

The Lord is in his holy temple;(AO)
    the Lord is on his heavenly throne.(AP)
He observes everyone on earth;(AQ)
    his eyes examine(AR) them.
The Lord examines the righteous,(AS)
    but the wicked, those who love violence,
    he hates with a passion.(AT)
On the wicked he will rain
    fiery coals and burning sulfur;(AU)
    a scorching wind(AV) will be their lot.

For the Lord is righteous,(AW)
    he loves justice;(AX)
    the upright(AY) will see his face.(AZ)

Psalm 12[c]

For the director of music. According to sheminith.[d] A psalm of David.

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;(BA)
    those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
Everyone lies(BB) to their neighbor;
    they flatter with their lips
    but harbor deception in their hearts.(BC)

May the Lord silence all flattering lips(BD)
    and every boastful tongue—(BE)
those who say,
    “By our tongues we will prevail;(BF)
    our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

“Because the poor are plundered(BG) and the needy groan,(BH)
    I will now arise,(BI)” says the Lord.
    “I will protect them(BJ) from those who malign them.”
And the words of the Lord are flawless,(BK)
    like silver purified(BL) in a crucible,(BM)
    like gold[e] refined seven times.

You, Lord, will keep the needy safe(BN)
    and will protect us forever from the wicked,(BO)
who freely strut(BP) about
    when what is vile is honored by the human race.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 10:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
  2. Psalm 10:5 See Septuagint; Hebrew / they are haughty, and your laws are far from
  3. Psalm 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-8 is numbered 12:2-9.
  4. Psalm 12:1 Title: Probably a musical term
  5. Psalm 12:6 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text earth