Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
Parallel translations
- WEB Why does the wicked person condemn God, and say in his heart, “God won’t call me into account?”
- BSB Why has the wicked man renounced God? He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.”
- ESV Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
- NKJV Why do the wicked renounce God? He has said in his heart, “You will not require an account.”
- NASB Why has the wicked treated God disrespectfully? He has said to himself, “You will not require an account.”
- NLT Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, “God will never call us to account.”
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Why does the wicked despise God, assuming he will not be held to account? The psalmist questions the presumption that sin escapes judgment.
Overview
The psalmist marvels at the wicked's contempt for God, rooted in the belief that there will be no reckoning. The question implicitly appeals to God to overturn that false assumption. Scripture is clear that all will give account, a truth that both warns the wicked and comforts the oppressed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Luke 10:16He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
- 2 Sam 12:9–10Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
- Ps 74:10O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
- 2 Chr 24:22Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.
- Num 11:20But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
- Ps 74:18Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
- 1 Th 4:8He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
- Gen 9:5And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.
- Gen 42:22And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
- Luke 11:50–51That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 10:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.