Psalm 10 is the continuation of Psalm 9 and is about HaShem as protector of the pious. King David already spoke about the enemies who surround us with their smooth talk. They ensnare us in their evil plans. Jews need HaShem’s support to avoid the trap of their enemies. King David tells the Jews: HaShem is King forever. They must use David’s words for their painful needs. It is the one true answer. Their Creator was, is and always will be.
- Text Psalm 10
- Hebrew text of Psalm 10 – תהילים י
- Listen to Psalm 10
- Explanation of Psalm 10 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
- Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 10
- Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
- Psalm 1 to 92
Text Psalm 10
Why, O Lord, are you so far away and hiding in times of trouble? In their pride, sinners persecute the weak – make them prisoners of their own plans! The man without God praises what he pursues, and if he is rich, he curses and despises the Eternal. He thinks in his delusion: He doesn’t ask anyone to account. There is no G-d, he tells himself.
……….Yet you see the pain and sorrow, you notice it and weigh it in your hand. Defenseless people, the orphans, trust in You, You come to their aid. Break the power of the wicked, demand accountability, and eradicate evil. The Eternal is king forever and ever: enemy nations will disappear from His land. O Lord, you hear the desire of the lowly, you encourage them and listen attentively, you do justice to the orphans and the oppressed. No man can drive it out of the land.
Hebrew text of Psalm 10 – תהילים י
- Why will Jehovah stand far away from you in times of trouble. In an evil tide, the poor will be ignited, they will be caught in these schemes, they thought. 3 Because he praised the wicked for the lust of his soul and made the blessing of Yahweh. D. Wicked as the height of his father in need, there is no God for all his schemes. May his ways always be exalted from your judgments against all his creations. And he said in his heart, Bel-Emot, generation after generation, that there is no evil. Zola’s mouth is full of deception and under his tongue is toil and sorrow. He sits in the middle of courtyards in secret, he will be killed, his eyes will be clean to a part, they will be sealed. 9 He lurks in secret like a lion in a den, he lurks to snatch the poor, he snatches the poor in his presence. Yes, Yeshua was subdued and fell down with his own strength. He said in his heart that he forgot God and hid his face from God forever. 12 Rise up, Jehovah, lift up your hand, do not forget the poor (humble). 13 Why did the evil one dare, God said in his heart you shall not demand. Yad saw that because you are labored and angry, you will look to give your hand to you, he will leave you an orphan, you would have been a helper. Break the arm of the wicked and the wicked will seek his wickedness without finding it. 16 Yahweh is the King of the world until the nations are lost from his land. 17 Humble desires that you have heard, Jehovah will prepare their hearts and listen with your ears. 18 To judge an orphan and a father in Joseph, and to banish a man from the land.
Listen to Psalm 10
Listen to Psalm 10 in Hebrew.
Explanation of Psalm 10 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
secular values
In our world, secular values have become the new religion. Nothing is sacred anymore and the only reality is what the individual longs for. How did such an impasse come about? When did it go wrong? There was no catastrophe. Slowly things started to change. This had to do with the technological revolution. Some saw this as a great progress for the people to become equal partners. However, this turned out not to be true. There were people who crossed moral lines and took advantage of others. They became the great enemy.
King David about the enemies King David already spoke about the enemies who surround us with their smooth talk. They ensnare us in their evil plans. We need HaShem’s support to stay out of the trap of our enemies. David says: the wicked man congratulates himself on fulfilling his personal desires, and the brazen thief slaps himself on the back for mocking HaShem…He says to himself: “Nothing bad will happen to me or to any of my descendants .,
our hope: HaShem is king forever Is there hope? King David tells us: HaShem is King forever. We must use David’s words for our painful needs. It is the one true answer. Our Creator was, is and always will be. Nothing can change this truth. HaSHem will always hear our soul’s plea if we do not give in to the enemies around us, especially those who disguise themselves as our friends. Then we will feel the comfort of HaShem’s strength and we will no longer be afraid.
Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 10
Per verse the commentary of Rashi, the Jewish Bible commentator who lived from 1040-1105. Rashi is considered the teacher of teachers. All traditional Jews regard Rashi as an authority on the Jewish Bible and Talmud. Hence it is important to record his commentary on the Psalms. Rashi uses new Hebrew supplemented with Old French words. His language is sometimes somewhat oracularly short. For further explanation it is wise to consult an orthodox Jewish rabbi.
Verse 1
O Lord, why do you stand afar off? [Why] Do You hide in times of trouble?
You hide yourselves in times of trouble : You hide your eyes in times of trouble.
Verse 2
With the haughtiness of the wicked man he pursues the poor man. They are caught in the conspiracies they have devised.
does he pursue : Hebrew ידלק, does he pursue, as (in Genesis 31:36): ,that you pursued me (דלקת)?,
They Are Captured : The poor are captured in the plots that the wicked devise against them.
Verse 3
For the wicked boasts of the desire of his soul, and the robber congratulates himself on blaspheming the Lord.
For the wicked boasts : This refers to “O Lord, why dost thou stand afar off,” for now the wicked man boasts that he fulfills all the desire of his soul.
and the robber congratulates himself on blaspheming the Lord : And the robber praises himself and says that he has blasphemed the Lord, yet he will have peace.
congratulates : Hebrew בֵּרֵך, as בֵּרַך, a past tense expression. You should know [that this is so] because if it were a noun, the accent would be on the first letter and it would be pronounced with a ,pattah, [which means a ,seggol, under the ,resh, ], but this one is sounded with a small ,kamatz, [i.e. with a ,tzereh,] and it is accented below on the ,resh,. Do not wonder about בֵּרֵך, that he did not say: בֵּרַך, because many words spelled with a ,resh are sounded in this way, e.g. (below 74:18), ,an enemy blasphemed (חֵרֵף) the Lord,, and it says not חֵרַף.
to blaspheme : Hebrew נאץ, as חֵרֵף and Menachem interpreted every expression of נאוץ this way.
Verse 4
An evil man in the height of his anger; “He will not seek; there is no G-d,, say all his thoughts.
An evil man at the height of his anger : When he is haughty and he stands up and holds his face erect, and his anger is at its height.
He will not seek : Even his thoughts tell him: ,The Holy One, blessed be He, will not seek anything that I can do because there is no judgment.,
There is no G-d : There is no judgment and there is no judge.
Verse 5
His ways prosper at all times; Your judgments are far from him. All his adversaries – he breathes on them.
prosper : Hebrew יחילו, prosperous and similar to this is (in Job 20:21): ,therefore his goods shall not prosper (יחיל) ., Others explain יחילו as (II Sam. 3:29): ,May it rest (יחולו) on the head of Joab.
Your judgments are far removed from him : Your judgments of pain and punishment are removed and removed from him, for they do not encounter him.
All his adversaries – he blows on them : With a gust of wind he blows on them and they fall before him.
Verse 6
He says to himself, ,I will not fall; I will not be in adversity for all generations.,
I will not be in adversity throughout all generations : Adversity will not befall me throughout my generations.
Verse 7
His mouth is full of oaths and deceit and craftiness; under his tongue is evil and iniquity.
and deceit : Hebrew ותך, an expression of an evil thought that continually settles in his midst.
Verse 8
He sits in wait in the villages; in hidden places he kills the innocent; his eyes spy on Your army.
his eyes spy out Your army : The eyes of Esau lie in wait for Israel, which is Your army.
Your army : Hebrew לחלכה; (verse 14), “upon You your army departs (חלכה).” Both are spelled in the masorah as words with כה instead of ך, such as (Exod. 7:29), ,upon you (ובכה) and upon your people; (Proverbs 2:11), ,discretion will protect you (תנצרכה) (Exod. 29:35),, I command you (אתכה) ,; (I Samuel 1:26), “who stood by you (עמכה).” We learn from the Masorah that חלכה is like חילך, your army. But Menachem (p.89) interprets לחלכה יצפנו and so יעזב חלכה as (verse 10), ‘and the helpless (חלכאים) will fall into his power,” a word that humbles and groans. Accordingly, כה is [part of] the radical.
Verse 10
He crouches, he bows and an army of broken people will fall because of his signals.
He squats, he stoops : Such is the habit of the peeping tom; he squats and lowers [himself] and makes himself small to be inconspicuous.
an army of broken people will fall because of his signals : Hebrew חלכאם, an army of broken people. I saw in the great masorah that חלכאים is one of the fifteen words that are written as one word and read as two words, like בגד in the verse (Gen. 30:11) beginning ,And Leah said., Also (in Deuteronomy 33:2), ,a fiery law (אשדת) is for them,; (Isaiah 3:15), “What do you mean (מלכם) that you crush My people?” This word also means חל כאים, an army of broken people. כאים is an expression of (under 109:16) ,and a broken heart (ונכאה לבב) to kill., If you say that the ,nun, is the radical, (Ezekiel 13:22) ,Because you have broken (הכאות) the heart of the righteous ‘will prove that [it is not]. We learn that the ‘nun’ of נראה resembles the ‘nun’ of (I Sam. 15:9) נמבזה and the ‘nun’ of (Jeremiah 6:14) נקלה, and so is its interpretation: and … the signals of this wicked man, with his hints and his winks, an expression of (Isaiah 41:21) “present your signals (עצמותיכם).” and (ibid. 33:15) ‘and closes (ועצם) his eyes, ‘An army of poor people. Another explanation: בעצומיו, by his mighty men. Rabbi Simon said: This wicked man puts in his ‘callirus’, which means army, only mighty men like him, as it is said (in Daniel 3:20): ‘And he commanded the mighty warriors that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego’ (Mid. Psalm 10: 5) However, Menachem (p. 89) interprets חלכאים as ‘poor and weak (וחלח)’, with the ‘chaff’ being a radical.
Verse 13
Why did an evil man blaspheme G-d? He said in his heart that You are not Why did an evil man blaspheme :
the Holy One, blessed be He? Because he said in his heart, You do not seek.
Verse 14
You saw, for You look on mischief and provocation to give strength with You; on You rely Your army [his burden]; You would help the orphan.
You saw : what he does, and You remain silent.
because You : Such is Your habit, that You look at mischief and provocation.
to give strength with You : With Your strength, help the wicked to prosper in their wickedness.
on You leaves Your army : Your people Israel, who are Your army, let the burden be on You, that You must execute justice on the wicked. Menachem (p. 132) interprets יעזב as an expression of help, such as (in Exodus 23:5): ,you will help תעזב) (עזב with him.,) He interprets חלכה as an expression of ,poor and weak (חלך) ,, Where the ,chaff, is a radical.
You Would Help the Orphan : Back in the day.
Verse 15
Break the arm of the wicked, but as for the wicked, you will seek his wickedness and you will not find it.
Break the arm of wicked Esau.
but as for the wicked one, you will seek his wickedness and will not find it : As for the wicked of Israel, when they see the wicked [of the nations] flourishing, their heart inspires them to do wickedly, but when you see the arm of the wicked, if you come to the wickedness of the wicked of Israel, you would not find it.
Verse 16
The Lord is king forever and ever; nations perish from His land.
The Lord is king forever and ever : after the nations have perished from His land.
Verse 18
To judge the fatherless and the crushed, that he no longer continues to break the weak of the earth.
To judge the orphan : To execute judgments for Israel, the fatherless and the broken.
that he no longer continues : Ishmael and Esau
in crushing the weak : Crushing and breaking the weak and sick.
Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
King David says that G-d is far away especially in times of need. Some people often feel that way. How did that happen? According to the Torah, G-d created an ‘agnostic’ world in which humans have the feeling of functioning independently. Why does G-d hide Himself? Because He wants man to slowly get used to Him. According to the Torah, man can become one with G-d by bringing together the human and Divine perspectives. So man must come into contact with G-d, says the Torah. In addition, man must realize that G-d is the Absolute Reality. One by making the world a dwelling place for G-d. Jews do this by adhering to Torah laws; Gentiles can do this by keeping the Noahide commandments. In this way, the mind and heart of man are fully deployed to discover and understand G-d, the Torah explains. The soul is cultivated by living the Bible. In this way the body reaches a higher goal. Then the meaning of life also becomes clear.
Psalm 1 to 92
Would you like to read more Psalms with a Jewish interpretation? Go to: Psalms 1 through 92.