Psalm 10
Psalm 10 is the tenth psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?" In the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, it is not an individual psalm but the second part of psalm 9, "Ut quid Domine recessisti". These two consecutive psalms have the form of a single acrostic Hebrew poem. Compared to Psalm 9, Psalm 10 is focused more on the individual than the collective human condition.
The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies.
Context
reflects on man's special place in creation. In contrast, both psalms 9 and 10 will end with statements setting mankind in a more negative light in the final verses of each. Psalm 9 closes with the phase "Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men, selah" Psalm 9:20 and Psalm 10:18 closes Psalm 10 with "...that the man of the earth may no more oppress." Some speculate that the final word of Psalm 9, selah, possibly meaning "a pause", might link the two psalms 9 and 10 together.Taken together, Psalms 9 and 10 comprise a continuous acrostic psalm in the Hebrew alphabet. Some texts, such as the Septuagint, combine them. They also contrast as Psalm 9 is more victorious and 10 more of a lament.
Text
The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions. In the Septuagint, this is not a separate psalm, but the second half of Psalm 9.| # | Hebrew | English | Greek |
| 1 | Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? | ῾Ινατί, Κύριε, ἀφέστηκας μακρόθεν, ὑπερορᾷς ἐν εὐκαιρίαις ἐν θλίψεσιν; | |
| 2 | The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. | ἐν τῷ ὑπερηφανεύεσθαι τὸν ἀσεβῆ ἐμπυρίζεται ὁ πτωχός, συλλαμβάνονται ἐν διαβουλίοις, οἷς διαλογίζονται. | |
| 3 | For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. | ὅτι ἐπαινεῖται ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὁ ἀδικῶν ἐνευλογεῖται· | |
| 4 | The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. | παρώξυνε τὸν Κύριον ὁ ἁμαρτωλός· κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐκζητήσει· οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Θεὸς ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ. | |
| 5 | His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. | βεβηλοῦνται αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτοῦ ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ, ἀνταναιρεῖται τὰ κρίματά σου ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ, πάντων τῶν ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ κατακυριεύσει· | |
| 6 | He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. | εἶπε γὰρ ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ· οὐ μὴ σαλευθῶ, ἀπὸ γενεᾶς εἰς γενεὰν ἄνευ κακοῦ. | |
| 7 | His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. | οὗ ἀρᾶς τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ γέμει καὶ πικρίας καὶ δόλου, ὑπὸ τὴν γλῶσσαν αὐτοῦ κόπος καὶ πόνος. | |
| 8 | He 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. | ἐγκάθηται ἐνέδρᾳ μετὰ πλουσίων, ἐν ἀποκρύφοις τοῦ ἀποκτεῖναι ἀθῷον· οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν πένητα ἀποβλέπουσιν· | |
| 9 | He 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. | ἐνεδρεύει ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ ὡς λέων ἐν τῇ μάνδρᾳ αὐτοῦ, ἐνεδρεύει τοῦ ἁρπάσαι πτωχόν, ἁρπάσαι πτωχὸν ἐν τῷ ἑλκύσαι αὐτόν· | |
| 10 | He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. | ἐν τῇ παγίδι αὐτοῦ ταπεινώσει αὐτόν, κύψει καὶ πεσεῖται ἐν τῷ αὐτὸν κατακυριεῦσαι τῶν πενήτων. | |
| 11 | He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it. | εἶπε γὰρ ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ· ἐπιλέλησται ὁ Θεός, ἀπέστρεψε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ τοῦ μὴ βλέπειν εἰς τέλος. | |
| 12 | Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble. | ἀνάστηθι, Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου, ὑψωθήτω ἡ χείρ σου, μὴ ἐπιλάθῃ τῶν πενήτων. | |
| 13 | Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it. | ἕνεκεν τίνος παρώργισεν ὁ ἀσεβὴς τὸν Θεόν; εἶπε γὰρ ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ· οὐκ ἐκζητήσει. | |
| 14 | Thou 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. | βλέπεις, ὅτι σὺ πόνον καὶ θυμὸν κατανοεῖς τοῦ παραδοῦναι αὐτοὺς εἰς χεῖράς σου· σοὶ ἐγκαταλέλειπται ὁ πτωχός, ὀρφανῷ σὺ ᾖσθα βοηθός. | |
| 15 | Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none. | σύντριψον τὸν βραχίονα τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ καὶ πονηροῦ, ζητηθήσεται ἡ ἁμαρτία αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐ μὴ εὑρεθῇ. | |
| 16 | The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land. | βασιλεύσει Κύριος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος, ἀπολεῖσθε ἔθνη ἐκ τῆς γῆς αὐτοῦ. | |
| 17 | LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: | τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν τῶν πενήτων εἰσήκουσε Κύριος, τὴν ἑτοιμασίαν τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν προσέσχε τὸ οὖς σου | |
| 18 | To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress. | κρῖναι ὀρφανῷ καὶ ταπεινῷ, ἵνα μὴ προσθῇ ἔτι μεγαλαυχεῖν ἄνθρωπος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. |
Uses
Judaism
- This psalm is recited during the Ten Days of Repentance in some traditions.
- Verse 16 forms parts of the eighth and ninth verses of Yehi Kivod in Pesukei Dezimra, part of Baruch Hashem L'Olam in Maariv, and part of the Bedtime Shema.
- Verse 17 is found in the repetition of the Amidah during Rosh Hashanah.
New Testament
- Verses 7 is quoted in Romans
Catholic Church
Traditionally Psalms 9 and 10 were recited as the seventh Psalms of Sunday Matins.