Salmos 10

VBL · Chapter 10/150

1Señor, ¿por qué estás tan lejos? ¿Por qué te escondes de mi en momentos de tribulación?

2Los malvados persiguen a los pobres con impunidad. Haz que queden atrapados en sus propios planes.

3Porque los malvados se jactan de sus deseos. Alaban al codicioso, pero tratan al Señor con desprecio.

4Su orgullo no los deja acercarse a Dios. Nunca está Dios en sus pensamientos.

5Todo lo que hacen les parece bueno. Son inconscientes de los juicios de Dios y ridiculizan a todos sus enemigos.

6Ellos piensan dentro de sí: “Nada malo me pasará. Nunca estaré en problemas”.

7Sus palabras son solo maldición, mentiras y amenazas. Sus lenguas siempre están listas para esparcir aflicción y hacer daño.

8Se ocultan y tienden emboscadas en las aldeas, y están listos para matar a los inocentes que van por el camino. Siempre están en búsqueda de su próxima víctima.

9Se ocultan y esperan para atacar como el león, listos para salir de un salto de su escondite y atrapar a su víctima. Toman por sorpresa a los vulnerables, y lanzan una red sobre ellos.

10Sus víctimas caen derrumbadas al suelo, sin forma de levantarse. Caen bajo la fuerza de los malvados.

11Ellos piensan: “Dios no se dará cuenta, pues mira hacia otra parte. Él no verá nada”.

12¡Levántate, Señor! ¡Alza tu mano! No te olvides de los que no pueden defenderse.

13¿Por qué los malvados piensan que pueden tratar a Dios con semejante desprecio? ¿Por qué creen que Dios no les pedirá cuentas?

14Pero tú ves la aflicción y angustia que causan. Toma esto en tus manos. Los indefensos confían en ti, pues tú defiendes a los huérfanos.

15¡Destruye el poder de los malvados! Hazlos rendir cuentas a todos, hasta que no quede ni uno solo.

16¡Señor, tu eres Rey por siempre y para siempre! Las naciones desaparecerán de sus tierras.

17Señor, tú has escuchado el gemir de los que sufren. Tú los escucharás y los reconfortarás.

18Tú defenderás los derechos del huérfano y del oprimido para que esos, que son apenas otros seres humanos, no los vuelvan a aterrorizar.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The psalmist asks why God seems distant while the wicked prosper by oppressing the poor and the orphan, and closes by asking God to rise up to bring justice and defend the defenseless.

Explanation

A natural continuation of Psalm 9 (forming a single poem in the original Hebrew), this text gives honest voice to a universal question: why do the wicked seem to win while God 'hides himself'? The portrait of the oppressor is detailed — he lies, deceives, and takes advantage of others' weakness, convinced that 'God hath forgotten' (v. 11). The Bible does not avoid this hard question, but turns it into prayer. Today's application: it is legitimate to question God in the face of injustice, as long as it leads us to prayer rather than cynicism, trusting that he is 'the helper of the fatherless' (v. 14).

Fun facts

  • Together with Psalm 9, it forms a Hebrew alphabetic acrostic — a device used to aid memorization in a culture with a largely oral tradition.
  • The closing line, 'that the man of the earth may no more oppress,' is one of the earliest biblical expressions of the desire for justice that structurally protects the vulnerable, not merely punishes isolated cases.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Salmos 10:1It opens with the classic question of someone suffering and feeling God's absence: why does He seem so far away exactly in the time of trouble?
  2. Salmos 10:2It describes the arrogance of those who persecute the weak, and already asks that the very trap planned for the victims close in on the one who set it.
  3. Salmos 10:3It shows the wicked man's inverted values: he takes pride in his own greed, praises those as covetous as himself, and treats God with contempt.
  4. Salmos 10:4This isn't a philosophical debate about God's existence: it's a description of someone too arrogant to care about God in practice, living as though his own actions carried no consequences at all.
  5. Salmos 10:5It describes how the wicked man's way always seems to succeed, so far beyond the reach of God's judgment that he doesn't even worry about it, and so he treats his own enemies with contempt.
  6. Salmos 10:6It shows the wicked man's false security: he's so certain nothing will go wrong that he doesn't even consider the possibility of ever facing hardship.
  7. Salmos 10:7It describes what comes out of the wicked man's mouth: cursing, deceit, and mischief hidden under his tongue, like a poison kept ready for use.
  8. Salmos 10:8It describes the wicked man as an ambush predator, hidden in the corners of villages, his eyes fixed in secret on the poor and defenseless.
  9. Salmos 10:9Comparing the oppressor to a lion hidden in wait for prey is a hunting image: he hides, stays still, and ambushes the weaker one by surprise. It's a realistic description of how violence worked against those with no defense.
  10. Salmos 10:10The hunting image continues: he crouches and stoops like an animal preparing to pounce, waiting for the moment to seize the weak.
  11. Salmos 10:11It reveals the logic behind the wickedness: the wicked man acts this way only because he's convinced God has forgotten, has looked away, and will never notice what he does.
  12. Salmos 10:12It's the direct request that contradicts the wicked man's assumption from the previous verse: that God has not forgotten, and more than that, that He rise up and act on behalf of the one who suffers.
  13. Salmos 10:13It repeats the same accusation in the form of a question: why can the wicked man go on living in contempt of God, betting he'll never be held accountable for it?
  14. Salmos 10:14It flatly contradicts the wicked man's assumption: God does see the suffering and weariness of those who endure it, and it's to Him that the poor and the orphan turn for help.
  15. Salmos 10:15In Hebrew poetry, arm is a synonym for strength and power to act, so asking that the arm of the wicked be broken is asking that his capacity to do harm be canceled out, not calling for a specific physical injury.
  16. Salmos 10:16After describing at such length the wicked man's apparent power, the psalm recalls who truly reigns forever, in contrast to nations that will one day vanish.
  17. Salmos 10:17It shifts into confidence: the desires of the humble don't fall into emptiness, God listens and even promises to strengthen their hearts.
  18. Salmos 10:18The psalm closes with the ultimate goal of all this justice: to protect the orphan and the oppressed until human violence simply has no way left to continue.

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