Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
Parallel translations
- WEB But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless.
- BSB But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
- ESV But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.
- NKJV But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, To repay it by Your hand. The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
- NASB You have seen it, for You have looked at harm and provocation to take it into Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan.
- NLT But you see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans.
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
God does see trouble and grief, taking it in hand to help the victim and the fatherless. God is not indifferent but the helper of the helpless.
Overview
Directly answering the wicked's claim that God does not see, the psalmist affirms that God observes affliction and acts as the helper of the vulnerable. God is especially the defender of the fatherless, a recurring concern in Scripture. This assurance grounds hope that injustice will not have the last word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- Ps 68:5A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
- Ps 146:9The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
- Ps 55:22Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
- Deut 10:18He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
- Hos 14:3Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
- 1 Pet 4:19Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
- Jer 49:11Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
- Hab 1:13Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
- Ps 35:22This thou hast seen, O LORD: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.
- 2 Kgs 9:26Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground, according to the word of the LORD.
- 1 Pet 5:7Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
- Ps 22:11Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
- Jer 51:56Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite.
- Judg 1:7And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
- Prov 15:3The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
- 2 Tim 1:12For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
- Jer 16:17For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
- 2 Chr 6:23Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.
- Heb 4:13Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
- Isa 10:3And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?
- Joel 3:4Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
- Jer 23:24Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
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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 10:14 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
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