Psalms 10

¹ Why, LORD, do you stand at a distance and pay no heed to these troubled times?

² Arrogant scoundrels pursue the poor; they trap them by their cunning schemes.

³ The wicked even boast of their greed; these robbers curse and scorn the LORD.

⁴ In their insolence the wicked boast: "God doesn't care, doesn't even exist."

⁵ Yet their affairs always succeed; they ignore your judgment on high; they sneer at all who oppose them.

⁶ They say in their hearts, "We will never fall; never will we see misfortune."

⁷ Their mouths are full of oaths, violence, and lies; discord and evil are under their tongues.

⁸ They wait in ambush near towns; their eyes watch for the helpless. to murder the innocent in secret.

⁹ They lurk in ambush like lions in a thicket, hide there to trap the poor, snare them and close the net.

¹⁰ The helpless are crushed, laid low; they fall into the power of the wicked,

¹¹ Who say in their hearts, "God pays no attention, shows no concern, never bothers to look."

¹² Rise up, LORD God! Raise your arm! Do not forget the poor!

¹³ Why should the wicked scorn God, say in their hearts, "God doesn't care"?

¹⁴ But you do see; you do observe this misery and sorrow; you take the matter in hand. To you the helpless can entrust their cause; you are the defender of orphans.

¹⁵ Break the arms of the wicked and depraved; make them account for their crimes; let none of them survive.

¹⁶ The LORD is king forever; the nations have vanished from God's land.

¹⁷ You listen, LORD, to the needs of the poor; you encourage them and hear their prayers.

¹⁸ You win justice for the orphaned and oppressed; no one on earth will cause terror again.