Psalms 10:1-10

1 Why are you so far away, O Lord? Why do you hide yourself when we are in trouble?

2 The wicked are proud and persecute the poor; catch them in the traps they have made.

3 The wicked are proud of their evil desires; the greedy curse and reject the Lord.

4 The wicked do not care about the Lord; in their pride they think that God doesn't matter.

5 The wicked succeed in everything. They cannot understand God's judgments; they sneer at their enemies.

6 They say to themselves, "We will never fail; we will never be in trouble."

7 Their speech is filled with curses, lies, and threats; ¹ they are quick to speak hateful, evil words.

8 They hide themselves in the villages, waiting to murder innocent people. They spy on their helpless victims;

9 they wait in their hiding place like lions. They lie in wait for the poor; they catch them in their traps and drag them away.

10 The helpless victims lie crushed; brute strength has defeated them.

Psalms 10:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 10

This psalm in the Septuagint version, and those that follow it, is a part and continuation of the preceding psalm, and makes but one with it; hence in these versions the number of the following psalms differ from others, and what is the eleventh with others is the tenth with them, and so on to the hundred fourteenth and one hundred fifteenth, which also are put into one; but in order to make up the whole number of one hundred and fifty, the hundred sixteenth and the hundred forty seventh are both divided into two; and indeed the subject of this psalm is much the same with the former. Antichrist and antichristian times are very manifestly described; the impiety, blasphemy, and atheism of the man of sin; his pride, haughtiness, boasting of himself, and presumption of security; his persecution of the poor, and murder of innocents, are plainly pointed at; nor does the character of the man of the earth agree to well to any as to him: his times are times of trouble; but at the end of them the kingdom of Christ will appear in great glory, when the Gentiles, the antichristian nations, will perish out of his land, Ps 10:1-11,16,18.

Cross References

• 1. 10.7Romans 3.14.