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10 ‎[1] **Why do You stand far off, Lord, **as if You were not here among us?** Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? **
‎[2] **The wicked in their pride fervently pursue the afflicted, who are caught in the schemes they plot. **
‎[3] **For the wicked one sings praises about** **his heart’s desire.** If an evil person decides for some reason to praise God, it is only about the attainment of his own desires. **And the evil man [*****botze’a*****] blesses and reviles the Lord. **When that evil person blesses God, his blessing is so insincere that it is actually an affront to Him. An alternative translation of *botze’a* is “one who breaks bread.” The meaning of this phrase, then, would be that an immoral person who steals bread from another and now sits down to eat it is committing a sacrilege by uttering a blessing over the bread.
‎[4] **The wicked one, with his proud countenance, **or, alternatively,** **in his great wrath, **does not seek **God.** **The greater his pride or wrath, the less likely he is to seek and find God. **God is not in his thoughts. **A wicked person does not take God into consideration when he plots to do evil.
‎[5] **His ways always prosper; Your judgments are on high, out of his sight. **It seems, especially to the evil people themselves, that Your judgments “on high” cannot affect them, for they seem to remain successful no matter what they do. **As for his foes, he blows at them. **With great ease, as if with a puff of air, the evil people blow away their rivals.
‎[6] **He said in his heart: I will not stumble. **In his heart, the evil person believes himself to be secure, noting: I persist, I am stable; nothing can topple me. **Throughout generations I will never be in adversity. **He believes he can continue to live and do as he pleases, without anything untoward ever happening to him.
‎[7] **His mouth is full of curses and deceit and intrigue; beneath his tongue are mischief and wickedness. **
‎[8] The following is the wicked person’s mode of action: **He lies in wait in courtyards; in hidden places he kills the innocent. He fixes his eyes on the downtrodden. **He lies in ambush in unguarded places, on the prowl for his victims.
‎[9] **He lurks in a hiding place like a lion in its lair. **He lies in wait like a lion in the brambles, stalking its prey. **He lurks to catch the poor man; he catches the poor man and draws him into his net.** He is deceptive, entrapping the vulnerable person and setting obstacles in his path.
‎[10] **He crushes him, forces him to a crouch, and the downtrodden are toppled by his might. **He uses his might to crush and oppress the unfortunate, bringing them down.
‎[11] **He says to himself: The Almighty has forgotten **about our existence.** He has hidden His face; He will never see. **Since God remains mostly unrevealed in His world, the wicked think they can do as they please. They are convinced that God does not see them.
‎[12] Here begins the psalmist’s prayer: **Arise, Lord God, raise Your hand, **reveal Your strength. **Do not forget the humble. **
‎[13] **Why has the wicked man mocked God, saying to himself **of God:** You will not seek? **The wicked man believes that God is oblivious, that He has no interest in mankind.
‎[14] But the truth is that **You have seen it; You have beheld mischief and anger. **You do look and You do see all the sins and the fury of the world, **and You gave it the power to be. **You Yourself are the one who makes it possible for evil to flourish in the world. **The poor rely on You; You have always helped** **the orphan. **Yet now the world appears to be completely abandoned by You. Because of this, the psalmist beseeches God:
‎[15] **Break the arm of the wicked one and evildoer; purge his wickedness until You can find none. **Eradicate evil to such an extent that if You look for it, You will not find it.
‎[16] **The Lord is King forever and ever; nations have perished from His land. **God has banished the wicked and immoral nations from His land.
‎[17] **Lord, You hear the desire of the humble, **which they express in their prayers.** You will strengthen their heart; You will incline Your ear **to their prayers,
‎[18] **to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, **so that **it, **evil,** will no longer destroy mortals, **particularly those who are weak and vulnerable,** from the earth. **
Version: The Steinsaltz Tanakh - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-steinsaltz-tanakh/products/steinsaltz-tanakh
License: Copyright: Steinsaltz Center