1 Why, O Yahweh, do you stand far off? [Why] do you hide during times of distress?
2 In arrogance [the] wicked persecutes [the] poor. Let them be caught in [the] schemes that they devised,
3 for [the] wicked boasts about the desire of his {heart}, and [the] one greedy for gain curses [and] treats Yahweh with contempt.
4 {With bald-faced pride} [the] wicked will not seek [God]. There is no God in any of his thoughts.
5 His ways endure at all times. Your judgments are aloof from him. [As for] all his enemies, he scoffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved {throughout all generations}, [during] which [I will have] no trouble."
7 His mouth is filled with cursing, with deceits and oppression; under his tongue are trouble and evil.
8 He sits in ambush in villages; in the hiding places he kills [the] innocent. His eyes {lurk} for [the] helpless.
9 He lies in ambush {secretly,} like a lion in a thicket. He lies in ambush to seize [the] poor; he seizes [the] poor by catching him in his net.
10 He is crushed; he is bowed down; so the helpless host falls by his {might}.
11 He says in his heart, "God has forgotten. He has hidden his face. He never sees."
12 Rise up, O Yahweh; O God, lift up your hand. Do not forget [the] afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked treat God with contempt? He says in his heart, "You will not call [me] to account."
14 [But] you have seen; indeed you have noted trouble and grief to take [it] into your hand. The helpless abandons [himself] upon you; you have been [the] helper [for the] orphan.
15 Break [the] arm of [the] wicked, and [as for the] evil [man]-- seek out his wickedness [until] you find none.
16 Yahweh [is] king forever and ever; the nations have perished from his land.
17 [The] longing of [the] afflicted you have heard, O Yahweh. You will make their heart secure. You will {listen attentively}
18 to render judgment [for the] fatherless and [the] oppressed [so that] a [mere] mortal from the earth will no longer cause terror.