Psalm 10:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.

NIV: In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.

NASB: In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the needy; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

CSB: In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims; let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

NLT: The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.

KJV: The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.

NKJV: The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

Throughout human history, there have been evil people who deliberately target the poor, the defenseless, and the weak to take advantage of them. Here, David evokes the feeling of hunting: targeting and running down prey. Not only do evil people target the poor, but they also applaud themselves for doing it.

Pride is common to unregenerate human beings. It is a trait that prompted Lucifer, the Devil, to rebel against God, and it is the trait that causes human beings to follow their own will rather than God's will. Ephesians 2:3 describes believers before they trusted in Christ as Savior as "carrying out the desires of the body and the mind." Isaiah 53:6 points out that "all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way."

David prays in Psalm 10:2 for the Lord to catch evil schemers in their own tricks (Psalm 37:14–15). He wants God to "turn the tables" on those wicked men. The book of Esther discloses wicked Haman's scheming against righteous Mordecai. He even planned to hang Mordecai, but his scheme backfired, and he was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai (Esther 7).

Psalm 10:1–11 asks why God seems to ignore the character and deeds of wicked people. The wicked are described as haughty oppressors of the poor and helpless. They are arrogant, greedy, insulters of God. They don't believe He exists, so they feel free to take advantage of poor and helpless victims.

This song opens with a common question humanity asks in hard times: "where are you, God?" There follows a description of wicked people and their deeds and motives. Evil people feel free to be depraved and arrogant, assuming there is no God to judge them. Like predators, these wicked people ambush helpless people. Despite their wrong assumptions, God keeps His promises. He will judge the wicked and defend His people. Helpless people can trust God to make matters right. Someday, He will rid the earth of all sin and suffering. His justice will prevail, and His people will never again experience persecution.

According to some scholars, Psalms 9 and 10 might have been composed together, possibly even as one psalm. No title is affixed to Psalm 10, and it seems to continue the acrostic pattern of Psalm 9, starting each section with a successive letter from the Hebrew alphabet. The Septuagint and the Vulgate place the two psalms as one. However, the mood shifts from one psalm to the other. Psalm 9 focuses on judgment to come; Psalm 10 focuses on the presence of widespread injustice. Whether literally composed together, or separately, they deal with related issues using profoundly different tones.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.