1 | Why dost thou stand afar off, O LORD? Why dost thou hide thyself in times of trouble? |
2 | In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes which they have devised. |
3 | For the wicked boasts of the desires of his heart, and the man greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. |
4 | In the pride of his countenance the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God." |
5 | His ways prosper at all times; thy judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them. |
6 | He thinks in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity." |
7 | His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. |
8 | He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the hapless, |
9 | he lurks in secret like a lion in his covert; he lurks that he may seize the poor, he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. |
10 | The hapless is crushed, sinks down, and falls by his might. |
11 | He thinks in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it." |
12 | Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thy hand; forget not the afflicted. |
13 | Why does the wicked renounce God, and say in his heart, "Thou wilt not call to account"? |
14 | Thou dost see; yea, thou dost note trouble and vexation, that thou mayest take it into thy hands; the hapless commits himself to thee; thou hast been the helper of the fatherless. |
15 | Break thou the arm of the wicked and evildoer; seek out his wickedness till thou find none. |
16 | The LORD is king for ever and ever; the nations shall perish from his land. |
17 | O LORD, thou wilt hear the desire of the meek; thou wilt strengthen their heart, thou wilt incline thy ear |
18 | to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. |