¹Why, Lord, do you stand far off?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

²In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,

who are caught in the schemes he devises.

³He boasts about the cravings of his heart;

he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.

⁴In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;

in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

⁵His ways are always prosperous;

your laws are rejected by him;

he sneers at all his enemies.

⁶He says to himself, ‘Nothing will ever shake me.’

He swears, ‘No-one will ever do me harm.’

⁷His mouth is full of lies and threats;

trouble and evil are under his tongue.

⁸He lies in wait near the villages;

from ambush he murders the innocent.

His eyes watch in secret for his victims;

⁹like a lion in cover he lies in wait.

He lies in wait to catch the helpless;

he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

¹⁰His victims are crushed, they collapse;

they fall under his strength.

¹¹He says to himself, ‘God will never notice;

he covers his face and never sees.’

¹²Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.

Do not forget the helpless.

¹³Why does the wicked man revile God?

Why does he say to himself,

‘He won’t call me to account’?

¹⁴But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;

you consider their grief and take it in hand.

The victims commit themselves to you;

you are the helper of the fatherless.

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked man;

call the evildoer to account for his wickedness

that would not otherwise be found out.

¹⁶The Lord is King for ever and ever;

the nations will perish from his land.

¹⁷You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;

you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

¹⁸defending the fatherless and the oppressed,

so that mere earthly mortals

will never again strike terror.