1Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Will You hide in times of trouble? 2The wicked in [his] pride persecutes the poor; let them be taken in the plans that they have imagined. 3For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire, and blesses the covetous [whom] the LORD despises. 4Through the pride of his face the wicked will not seek [Him]; There [is] no God in all his schemes. 5His ways are always perverted; Your judgments [are] high, out of his sight. [As for] all his enemies, he puffs at them. 6He has said in his heart, I shall not be moved; from generation to generation, never in evil! 7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud; under his tongue [are] mischief and vanity. 8He sits in the hiding-places of the villages; in the secret places he murders the innocent. His eyes are secretly set against the poor. 9He lies in wait secretly, like a lion in his den. He lies in wait to catch the poor; he catches the poor when he draws him into his net. 10He crouches and bows, and the poor have fallen by his might. 11He has said in his heart, God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will not see forever! 12Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up Your hand; forget not the humble. 13Why do the wicked condemn God? He has said in his heart, You will not judge. 14You have seen [it]; for You behold mischief and vexation, to repay [it] with Your hand. The poor commits [himself] to You; You are the Helper of the fatherless. 15Break the arm of the wicked and the evil one; seek out his wickedness, [until] You find none. 16The LORD [is] King forever and ever; the nations have perished out of His land. 17LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart, You will cause Your ear to hear, 18to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, so that the man of the earth may no more terrify.