1  Why, O Lord, do you stand ^kfar away?

Why ^ldo you hide yourself in ^mtimes of trouble?

2  In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;

let them ⁿbe caught in the schemes that they have devised.

3  For the wicked ^oboasts of the desires of his soul,

and the one greedy for gain ^pcurses¹ and ^qrenounces the Lord.

4  In the pride of his face² the wicked does not ^qseek him;³

all his thoughts are, ^r“There is no God.”

5  His ways prosper at all times;

your judgments are on high, ^sout of his sight;

as for all his foes, he ^tpuffs at them.

6  He ^usays in his heart, “I shall not be moved;

throughout all generations I ^vshall not meet adversity.”

7  ^wHis mouth is filled with cursing and ^xdeceit and ^yoppression;

^zunder his tongue are ^amischief and ^biniquity.

8  He sits in ambush in the villages;

in ^chiding places he murders the innocent.

His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

9  he lurks in ambush like ^da lion in his ^ethicket;

he ^flurks that he may seize the poor;

he seizes the poor when he draws him into his ^gnet.

10  The helpless are crushed, sink down,

and fall by his might.

11  He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,

he has ^hhidden his face, he ⁱwill never see it.”

12  ^jArise, O Lord; O God, ^klift up your hand;

^lforget not the afflicted.

13  Why does the wicked ^mrenounce God

and say in his heart, “You will not ⁿcall to account”?

14  But you do see, for you ^onote mischief and vexation,

that you may take it into your hands;

to you the helpless ^pcommits himself;

you have been ^qthe helper of the fatherless.

15  ^rBreak the arm of the wicked and evildoer;

^scall his wickedness to account till you find none.

16  ^tThe Lord is king forever and ever;

the ^unations perish from his land.

17  O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;

you will ^vstrengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

18  to ^wdo justice to the fatherless and ^xthe oppressed,

so that ^yman who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

1  “Man who is ^kborn of a woman

is ^lfew of days and ^mfull of trouble.

2  He comes out like ⁿa flower and ^owithers;

he flees like ^pa shadow and continues not.

3  And do you ^qopen your eyes on such a one

and ^rbring me into judgment with you?

4  Who can bring ^sa clean thing out of an unclean?

There is not one.

5  Since his ^tdays are determined,

and ^uthe number of his months is with you,

and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,

6  ^vlook away from him and leave him alone,¹

that he may enjoy, like ^wa hired hand, his day.

7  “For there is hope for a tree,

if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,

and that its shoots will not cease.

8  Though its root grow old in the earth,

and ^xits stump die in the soil,

9  yet at the scent of water it will bud

and put out ^ybranches like a young plant.

10  But a man dies and is laid low;

man breathes his last, and ^zwhere is he?

11  ^aAs waters fail from a lake

and a river wastes away and dries up,

12  so a man lies down and rises not again;

till ^bthe heavens are no more he will not awake

or be ^croused out of his sleep.

13  Oh that you would ^dhide me in ^eSheol,

that you would ^dconceal me ^funtil your wrath be past,

that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

14  If a man dies, shall he live again?

All the days of my ^gservice I would ^hwait,

till my renewal² should come.

15  You would ⁱcall, and I would answer you;

you would long for the ^jwork of your hands.

16  For then you would ^knumber my steps;

you would not keep ^lwatch over my sin;

17  my transgression would be ^msealed up in a bag,

and you would cover over my iniquity.

18  “But the mountain falls and ⁿcrumbles away,

and ^othe rock is removed from its place;

19  the waters wear away the stones;

the torrents wash away the soil of the earth;

so you destroy the hope of man.

20  You prevail forever against him, and he passes;

you change his countenance, and send him away.

21  His sons come to honor, and he ^pdoes not know it;

they are brought low, and he perceives it not.

22  He feels only the pain of his own body,

and he mourns only for himself.”