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Psalms 10

KJV · Chapter 10/150

1Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?

2The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.

3For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.

4The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

5His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.

6He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.

7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.

8He 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.

9He 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.

10He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.

11He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.

12Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.

13Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

14Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.

15Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.

16The Lord is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

17Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

18To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The psalmist asks why God seems distant while the wicked prosper by oppressing the poor and the orphan, and closes by asking God to rise up to bring justice and defend the defenseless.

Explanation

A natural continuation of Psalm 9 (forming a single poem in the original Hebrew), this text gives honest voice to a universal question: why do the wicked seem to win while God 'hides himself'? The portrait of the oppressor is detailed — he lies, deceives, and takes advantage of others' weakness, convinced that 'God hath forgotten' (v. 11). The Bible does not avoid this hard question, but turns it into prayer. Today's application: it is legitimate to question God in the face of injustice, as long as it leads us to prayer rather than cynicism, trusting that he is 'the helper of the fatherless' (v. 14).

Fun facts

  • Together with Psalm 9, it forms a Hebrew alphabetic acrostic — a device used to aid memorization in a culture with a largely oral tradition.
  • The closing line, 'that the man of the earth may no more oppress,' is one of the earliest biblical expressions of the desire for justice that structurally protects the vulnerable, not merely punishes isolated cases.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Psalms 10:1It opens with the classic question of someone suffering and feeling God's absence: why does He seem so far away exactly in the time of trouble?
  2. Psalms 10:2It describes the arrogance of those who persecute the weak, and already asks that the very trap planned for the victims close in on the one who set it.
  3. Psalms 10:3It shows the wicked man's inverted values: he takes pride in his own greed, praises those as covetous as himself, and treats God with contempt.
  4. Psalms 10:4This isn't a philosophical debate about God's existence: it's a description of someone too arrogant to care about God in practice, living as though his own actions carried no consequences at all.
  5. Psalms 10:5It describes how the wicked man's way always seems to succeed, so far beyond the reach of God's judgment that he doesn't even worry about it, and so he treats his own enemies with contempt.
  6. Psalms 10:6It shows the wicked man's false security: he's so certain nothing will go wrong that he doesn't even consider the possibility of ever facing hardship.
  7. Psalms 10:7It describes what comes out of the wicked man's mouth: cursing, deceit, and mischief hidden under his tongue, like a poison kept ready for use.
  8. Psalms 10:8It describes the wicked man as an ambush predator, hidden in the corners of villages, his eyes fixed in secret on the poor and defenseless.
  9. Psalms 10:9Comparing the oppressor to a lion hidden in wait for prey is a hunting image: he hides, stays still, and ambushes the weaker one by surprise. It's a realistic description of how violence worked against those with no defense.
  10. Psalms 10:10The hunting image continues: he crouches and stoops like an animal preparing to pounce, waiting for the moment to seize the weak.
  11. Psalms 10:11It reveals the logic behind the wickedness: the wicked man acts this way only because he's convinced God has forgotten, has looked away, and will never notice what he does.
  12. Psalms 10:12It's the direct request that contradicts the wicked man's assumption from the previous verse: that God has not forgotten, and more than that, that He rise up and act on behalf of the one who suffers.
  13. Psalms 10:13It repeats the same accusation in the form of a question: why can the wicked man go on living in contempt of God, betting he'll never be held accountable for it?
  14. Psalms 10:14It flatly contradicts the wicked man's assumption: God does see the suffering and weariness of those who endure it, and it's to Him that the poor and the orphan turn for help.
  15. Psalms 10:15In Hebrew poetry, arm is a synonym for strength and power to act, so asking that the arm of the wicked be broken is asking that his capacity to do harm be canceled out, not calling for a specific physical injury.
  16. Psalms 10:16After describing at such length the wicked man's apparent power, the psalm recalls who truly reigns forever, in contrast to nations that will one day vanish.
  17. Psalms 10:17It shifts into confidence: the desires of the humble don't fall into emptiness, God listens and even promises to strengthen their hearts.
  18. Psalms 10:18The psalm closes with the ultimate goal of all this justice: to protect the orphan and the oppressed until human violence simply has no way left to continue.

Chapters

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