| 1 | Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself, [veiling Your eyes] in times of trouble (distress and desperation)? |
| 2 | The wicked in pride
and
arrogance hotly pursue
and
persecute the poor; let them be taken in the schemes which they have devised. |
| 3 | For the wicked
man
boasts (sings the praises) of his own heart’s desire, and the one greedy for gain curses
and
spurns, yes, renounces
and
despises the Lord. |
| 4 | The wicked one in the pride of his countenance will not seek, inquire for,
and
yearn for God; all his thoughts are that there is no God [so He never punishes]. |
| 5 | His ways are grievous [or persist] at all times; Your judgments [Lord] are far above
and
on high out of his sight [so he never thinks about them]; as for all his foes, he sniffs
and
sneers at them. |
| 6 | He thinks in his heart, I shall not be moved; for throughout all generations I shall not come to want
or
be in adversity. |
| 7 | His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, oppression (fraud); under his tongue are trouble and sin (mischief and iniquity). |
| 8 | He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he slays the innocent; he watches stealthily for the poor (the helpless and unfortunate). |
| 9 | He lurks in secret places like a lion in his thicket; he lies in wait that he may seize the poor (the helpless and the unfortunate); he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. |
| 10 | [The prey] is crushed, sinks down; and the helpless falls by his mighty [claws]. |
| 11 | [The foe] thinks in his heart, God has quite forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see [my deed]. |
| 12 | Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand; forget not the humble [patient and crushed]. |
| 13 | Why does the wicked [man] condemn (spurn and renounce) God? Why has he thought in his heart, You will not call to account? |
| 14 | You have seen it; yes, You note trouble and grief (vexation) to requite it with Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless. |
| 15 | Break the arm of the wicked man; and as for the evil man, search out his wickedness until You find no more. |
| 16 | The Lord is King forever and ever; the nations will perish out of His land. |
| 17 | O Lord, You have heard the desire
and
the longing of the humble
and
oppressed; You will prepare
and
strengthen
and
direct their hearts, You will cause Your ear to hear, |
| 18 | To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man, who is of the earth, may not terrify them any more. |