לָמָה יְהוָה תַּעֲמֹד בְּרָחוֹק תַּעְלִים לְעִתּוֹת בַּצָּרָה׃   10:1

Psal. 10:1   Why, O Lord, would You stay distant,

                               would You be concealed at troubled times?

David starts this psalm with a question, which is rhetorical, since he answers it later, that has been asked in every

generation in every century since, and one that many of us ask today.  Where is the Lord amidst this world full of

evil?  David answers it with a confession of faith.

בְּגַאֲוַת רָשָׁע יִדְלַק עָנִי יִתָּפְשׂוּ בִּמְזִמּוֹת זוּ חָשָׁבוּ׃   10:2

Psal. 10:2   With the arrogance of wickedness the poor would be persecuted.

                                Let them be caught by the devices that they imagine.

כִּי־הִלֵּל רָשָׁע עַל־תַּאֲוַת נַפְשׁוֹ וּבֹצֵעַ בֵּרֵךְ נִאֵץ יְהוָה׃   10:3

Psal. 10:3   For the guilty one boasts about the desire of his heart

                                and the greedy one praises, despising the Lord;

רָשָׁע כְּגֹבַהּ אַפּוֹ בַּל־יִדְרֹשׁ אֵין אֱלֹהִים כָּל־מְזִמּוֹתָיו׃   10:4

Psal. 10:4   the wicked, according to the pride of his countenance, will not question;

                                “There is no God,” are all his thoughts.

This is interesting.  David tells us that only the faithful would question.  Unbelievers and those with evil in their

hearts already know the answer.  There is no God.  How true this seems about the unbelievers of today!

יָחִילוּ (דָרְכּו) [דְרָכָיו] בְּכָל־עֵת מָרֹום מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ מִנֶּגְדֹּו כָּל־צֹורְרָיו יָפִיחַ בָּהֶם׃   10:5

Psal. 10:5   At any time his ways would seem to prosper;

                                Your judgments are far above, out of his sight.

                     All his afflictions, he would puff on them.

The word in parentheses, translated as his ways, is spelled as a singular noun, and should be plural to agree

with the plural verb, would seem to prosper.  The correction is in the brackets.

אָמַר בְּלִבֹּו בַּל־אֶמֹּוט לְדֹר וָדֹר אֲשֶׁר לֹא־בְרָע׃   10:6

Psal. 10:6   One who is not in trouble says in his heart,

                      “I cannot be moved for all generations.”

In other words, he would never change his mind -- there is no God, period.

אָלָה פִּיהוּ מָלֵא וּמִרְמֹות וָתֹךְ תַּחַת לְשֹׁונֹו עָמָל וָאָוֶן׃   10:7

Psal. 10:7   His mouth if full of cursing and lies and deceit;

                                 under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

יֵשֵׁב בְּמַאְרַב חֲצֵרִים בַּמִּסְתָּרִים יַהֲרֹג נָקִי עֵינָיו לְחֵלְכָה יִצְפֹּנוּ׃   10:8

Psal. 10:8   He tarries in a lurking place of the villages;

                                he would kill the innocent in secret places.

                      His eyes would be reserved for the helpless.

יֶאֱרֹב בַּמִּסְתָּר כְּאַרְיֵה בְסֻכֹּה יֶאֱרֹב לַחֲטֹוף עָנִי יַחְטֹף עָנִי בְּמָשְׁכֹו בְרִשְׁתֹּו׃   10:9

Psal. 10:9   He would lie in wait in a secret place

                                like a lion in a covert;

                      he would lie in wait to catch the poor.

                               He would catch the poor by drawing him into his net.

וַדָּכַה) [יִדְכֶּה] יָשֹׁחַ וְנָפַל בַּעֲצוּמָיו (חֶלְכָּאִים) [חֵיל] [כָּאִים]׃   10:10

Psal. 10:10   So he would crouch, bow down,

                                and he would fall into his powerful miserable claws.

Two alleged errors in this verse are not errors as I see them.  The first word, before the left parenthesis with the

vav prefix, is thought to properly have a yad prefix in place of the vav.  The verb should be imperfect.  But if the

vav is reversing, as I believe it is, then the verb would be translated as imperfect.  As for the second error, the

phrase composed of the word within the set of parentheses and the previous word, translated as his powerful

miserable claws, is correctly spelled and should be a single word, despite the difficulty of the Hebrew.  As a final

thought, the pronoun he in the second English line refers to the victim who falls into the claws of the evil one.

אָמַר בְּלִבֹּו שָׁכַח אֵל הִסְתִּיר פָּנָיו בַּל־רָאָה לָנֶצַח׃   10:11

Psal. 10:11   He says in his heart, “God has forgotten.

                                He hides His face. He does not ever see it.”

קוּמָה יְהוָה אֵל נְשָׂא יָדֶךָ אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח (עֲנִיִּים) [עֲנָוִים]׃   10:12

Psal. 10:12   Arise, O Lord, God!  Lift Your “hand!”

                                 Do not forget the humble.

The word in the parentheses in this verse is identical to the two alleged in error in the previous chapter.  See my

remarks relating to Psal. 9:13.

עַל־מֶה נִאֵץ רָשָׁע אֱלֹהִים אָמַר בְּלִבּוֹ לֹא תִּדְרֹשׁ׃   10:13

Psal. 10:13   Why does God despise a wicked man?

                                 He says in his heart, “You will not seek out.”

רָאִתָה כִּי־אַתָּה עָמָל וָכַעַס תַּבִּיט לָתֵת בְּיָדֶךָ עָלֶיךָ יַעֲזֹב חֵלֶכָה יָתוֹם אַתָּה הָיִיתָ עוֹזֵר׃   10:14

Psal. 10:14   You see it, for You must behold mischief and spite,

                                  striking with Your “hand.”

                        The poor one must commit himself to You;

                                  You are the Helper of the fatherless.

שְׁבֹר זְרֹועַ רָשָׁע וָרָע תִּדְרֹושׁ־רִשְׁעֹו בַל־תִּמְצָא׃   10:15

Psal. 10:15   Break the arm of the wicked and evil man!

                                  You must pursue his iniquity till You cannot find.

יְהוָה מֶלֶךְ עֹולָם וָעֶד אָבְדוּ גֹויִם מֵאַרְצֹו׃   10:16

Psal. 10:16   The Lord is King always and ever;

                                  the heathen perish from His land.

תַּאֲוַת עֲנָוִים שָׁמַעְתָּ יְהוָה תָּכִין לִבָּם תַּקְשִׁיב אָזְנֶךָ׃   10:17

Psal. 10:17   You hear, O Lord, the desire of the humble;

                                 You will prepare their heart;

                        You will incline Your “ear”

לִשְׁפֹּט יָתֹום וָדָךְ בַּל־יֹוסִיף עֹוד לַעֲרֹץ אֱנֹושׁ מִן־הָאָרֶץ׃   10:18

Psal. 10:18   to avenge the fatherless and afflicted,

                                  till no man from the land is continuing to oppress anymore.

[Return to Psalms Chapters]   [Prev.:  Psal. 9]   [Next:  Psal. 11]