Psalms — Chapter 10
Why, O ETERNAL One, do You stand aloof,heedless in times of trouble?
The wicked in their arrogance hound the lowly—may they be caught in the schemes they devise!amay they be caught in the schemes they devise Or “they (i.e., the lowly) are caught by the schemes they devised.”
The wicked crow about their unbridled lusts;the grasping revile and scorn GOD.
The wicked, arrogant as they are,in all their scheming [think],bThe wicked crow … their scheming [think] Meaning of Heb. uncertain. “God does not carecGod does not care Lit. “There is no God.” and does not call to account.”dClauses transposed for clarity.
Their ways prosper at all times;Your judgments are far beyond them;they snort at all their foes.
Such people think, “I shall not be shaken,through all time never be in trouble.”
Their mouth is full of oaths, deceit, and fraud;mischief and evil are under their tongue.
They lurk in outlying places;from a covert they slay the innocent;their eyes spy out the hapless.
They wait in a covert like a lion in a lair;wait to seize the lowly;they seize the lowly as they pull their net shut;
they stoop, they crouch,and the hapless fall prey to their might.eand the hapless fall prey to their might Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
They think, “God is not mindful,the divine face is hidden and never looks.”
Rise, O ETERNAL One!Strike at them,fStrike at them Lit. “Lift Your hand.” O God!Do not forget the lowly.
Why should the wicked scorn God,thinking You do not call to account?
You do look!You take note of mischief and vexation!To requite is in Your power.gTo requite is in Your power Meaning of Heb. uncertain. To You the hapless can entrust themselves;You have ever been the orphans’ help.
O break the power of the wicked and evildoers,so that when You look forhlook for A play on darash, which in vv. 4 and 13 means “to call to account.” their wickednessYou will find it no more.
GOD is sovereign for ever and ever;the nations will perish from thisithis Heb. “His.” land.
You will listen to the entreaty of the lowly, O ETERNAL One,You will make their hearts firm;You will incline Your ear
to champion the orphan and the downtrodden,that mere earthly mortals tyrannize no more.jthat mere earthly mortals tyrannize no more Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
Impermanence & Letting Go
Dhammapada 20:277
“All conditioned things are impermanent. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.”
Tao Te Ching 76
“A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff. The soft and yielding is the disciple of life.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”
Bhagavad Gita 2:22
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Bhagavad Gita 16:21
“There are three gates to self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one must learn to give these up.”