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J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

Psalms 10:10

He croucheth, he lieth down, then falleth he with his strong claws upon the unfortunate.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Malice;   Poor;   Wicked (People);   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Murder;  

Dictionaries:

- Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Acrostic;   English Versions;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Meekness;   Psalms;   Sin;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Psalms the book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Humility;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So he is oppressed and beaten down;helpless people fall because of the wicked one’s strength.
Hebrew Names Version
The helpless are crushed, they collapse, They fall under his strength.
King James Version
He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
English Standard Version
The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.
New Century Version
The poor are thrown down and crushed; they are defeated because the others are stronger.
New English Translation
His victims are crushed and beaten down; they are trapped in his sturdy nets.
Amplified Bible
He crushes [his prey] and crouches; And the unfortunate fall by his mighty claws.
New American Standard Bible
Then he crushes the needy one, who cowers; And unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.
World English Bible
The helpless are crushed, they collapse, They fall under his strength.
Geneva Bible (1587)
He croucheth and boweth: therefore heaps of the poore doe fall by his might.
Legacy Standard Bible
He crouches, he bows down,And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones.
Berean Standard Bible
They are crushed and beaten down; the hapless fall prey to his strength.
Contemporary English Version
They crouch down and wait to grab a victim.
Complete Jewish Bible
Yes, he stoops, crouches down low; and the helpless wretch falls into his clutches.
Darby Translation
He croucheth, he boweth down, that the wretched may fall by his strong ones.
Easy-to-Read Version
Again and again they hurt people who are already weak and suffering.
George Lamsa Translation
He shall be humbled and overthrown, and in his bones there shall be sickness and pain.
Good News Translation
The helpless victims lie crushed; brute strength has defeated them.
Lexham English Bible
He is crushed; he is bowed down; so the helpless host falls by his might.
Literal Translation
and the poor being crushed, he bows; yea, the poor have fallen by his strong ones.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then smyteth he, then oppresseth he & casteth downe the poore with his auctorite.
American Standard Version
He croucheth, he boweth down, And the helpless fall by his strong ones.
Bible in Basic English
The upright are crushed and made low, and the feeble are overcome by his strong ones.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
He croucheth, he boweth down, and the helpless fall into his mighty claws.
King James Version (1611)
He croucheth, and humbleth himselfe, that the poore may fall by his strong ones.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
He croucheth and humbleth him selfe: so that a number of the that be weake, fall by his myght.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
He will bow down and fall when he has mastered the poor.
English Revised Version
He croucheth, he boweth down, and the helpless fall by his strong ones.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
In his snare he schal make meke the pore man; he schal bowe hym silf, and schal falle doun, whanne he hath be lord of pore men.
Update Bible Version
He crouches, he bows down, And the helpless fall by his strong ones.
Webster's Bible Translation
He croucheth, [and] humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
New King James Version
So he crouches, he lies low, That the helpless may fall by his strength.
New Living Translation
Their helpless victims are crushed; they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.
New Life Bible
The weak are hurt and they fall. They cannot stand under his strength.
New Revised Standard
They stoop, they crouch, and the helpless fall by their might.
Douay-Rheims Bible
(9-31) In his net he will bring him down, he will crouch and fall, when he shall have power over the poor.
Revised Standard Version
The hapless is crushed, sinks down, and falls by his might.
Young's Literal Translation
He is bruised -- he boweth down, Fallen by his mighty ones hath the afflicted.
THE MESSAGE
The hapless fool is kicked to the ground, the unlucky victim is brutally axed. He thinks God has dumped him, he's sure that God is indifferent to his plight.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
He crouches, he bows down, And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones.

Contextual Overview

1 Wherefore, O Yahweh, shouldst thou stand afar off? Wherefore hide thyself, in times of destitution? 2 In the pride of the lawless one, he hotly pursueth the poor, let them be caught in the plots which they have devised! 3 For the lawless one hath boasted over the longing of his soul, and, the robber, hath blasphemed Yahweh. 4 The lawless one, in the loftiness of his countenance, will not enquire, God is not in any of his plots: 5 His ways are firm at all times, On high, are thy righteous regulations, out of his sight, As for all his adversaries, he puffeth at them: 6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be shaken, - From generation to generation, shall I be in no misfortune. 7 With cursing, his mouth is full, and with deceptions and oppression, Under his tongue, are trouble and mischief: 8 He abideth in the lurking-place of villages, In the hiding-places, he murdereth the innocent, - His eyes, for the unfortunate, are on the watch: 9 He lieth in wait in a hiding-place, like a lion in his covert, He lieth in wait to catch the humbled, He catcheth the humbled, by drawing him into his net: 10 He croucheth, he lieth down, then falleth he with his strong claws upon the unfortunate.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

croucheth: Heb. breaketh himself, 1 Samuel 2:36

humbleth: 1 Samuel 18:21-26, 1 Samuel 23:21, 1 Samuel 23:22, 2 Samuel 15:5

by his strong ones: Heb. or, into his strong parts

Reciprocal: Psalms 59:3 - they Psalms 73:8 - speak wickedly Ecclesiastes 4:1 - and considered Jeremiah 5:26 - lay wait Matthew 2:7 - General James 2:6 - Do

Cross-References

Genesis 11:2
And it came to pass as they brake away onwards, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and dwelt there.
Genesis 11:9
For this cause, was the name thereof called Babel; because there, did Yahweh confuse the speech of all the earth, - and, from thence, did Yahweh scatter them abroad, over the face of all the earth.
Genesis 14:1
And it came to pass, in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar, - Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goim,
Isaiah 10:9
Is not, Calno, like Carchemish? Is not, Hamath, like Arpad? Is not, Samaria, like Damascus?
Isaiah 11:11
And it shall come to pass in that day, That My Lord will again a second time set his hand, to possess himself of the remnant of his people, - who shall be left - from Assyria and from Egypt and from Pathros and from Ethiopia and from Elam and from Shinar and from Hamath and from the Coastlands of the sea;
Isaiah 39:1
At that time, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah, - for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick, and had recovered.
Jeremiah 50:21
Against the land of Merathaim, go thou up against her, And against the inhabitants of Pekod, - Lay waste and devote to destruction after them Declareth Yahweh, And do according to all which I have commanded thee.
Daniel 1:2
and the Lord gave into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, and a part of the vessels of the house of God, and he brought them into the land of Shinar, into the house of his gods, - and, the vessels, brought he into the treasure-house of his gods.
Amos 6:2
Pass ye over to Calneh, and see, and go on from thence to Hamath the great, - and go down to Gath of the Philistines, are they better than these kingdoms? or their boundary larger than your boundary?
Micah 4:10
Be in labour, and bear, O daughter of Zion, as a woman in child-birth, - for, meanwhile, shalt thou go forth out of the city, and dwell in the field, and shalt come as far as Babylon, there, shalt thou be delivered, there, will Yahweh, redeem thee, out of the grasp of thine enemies.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

He croucheth [and] humbleth himself,.... As the lion before he leaps and seizes on his prey, and as the fowler creepeth upon the ground to draw the bird into his net and catch it; so the antichristian beast has two horns like a lamb; though he has the mouth of a lion, and speaks like a dragon, he would be thought to be like the Lamb of God, meek, and lowly, and humble, and therefore calls himself "servus servorum", "the servant of servants"; but his end is,

that the poor may fall by his strong ones; the word for "poor" is here used, as before observed on Psalms 10:8, in the plural number, and is read by the Masorites as two words, though it is written as one, and is by them and other Jewish writers h interpreted a multitude, company, or army of poor ones, whose strength is worn out; these weak and feeble ones antichrist causes to fall by his strong ones; either by his strong decrees, cruel edicts, and severe punishments, as by sword, by flame, by captivity and by spoils, Daniel 11:33; or by the kings of the earth and their armies, their mighty men of war, their soldiers, whom he instigates and influences to persecute their subjects, who will not receive his mark in their right hands or foreheads, Revelation 13:15. It is very observable, that those persecuted by antichrist are so often in this prophetic psalm called "poor"; and it is also remarkable, that there were a set of men in the darkest times of Popery, and who were persecuted by the Papists, called the "poor" men of Lyons: the whole verse may be rendered and paraphrased thus, "he tears in pieces", that is, the poor, whom he catches in his net; "he boweth himself", as the lion does, as before observed; "that he may fall", or rush upon; with his strong ones, his mighty armies, "upon the multitude of the poor".

h Jarchi, Kimchi, & Ben Melech in loc.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He croucheth - Margin, “breaketh himself.” Coverdale, “Then smiteth he, then oppresseth he.” Prof. Alexander, “And bruised he will sink.” Horsley, “And the overpowered man submits.” Luther, “He slays, and thrusts down, and presses to the earth the poor with power.” This variety of interpretation arises from some ambiguity in regard to the meaning of the original. The word rendered “croucheth” - ודכה, in the Kethib (the text) - is in the Qeri’ (margin), ידכה, “and crushed, he sinks down.” There is some uncertainty about the form in which the word is used, but it is certain that it does not mean, as in our translation, “he croucheth.” The word דכה dâkâh, properly means to be broken in pieces, to be crushed; and this idea runs through all the forms in which the word occurs. The true idea, it seems to me, is that this does not refer to the wicked man, but to his victim or victims, represented here by a word in the collective singular; and the meaning is that such a victim, crushed and broken down, sinks under the power of the persecutor and oppressor. “And the crushed one sinks down.”

And humbleth himself - The word used here - ישׁח yāśoch - from שׁוּח śûch - means to sink down; to settle down. Here it means to sink down as one does who is overcome or oppressed, or who is smitten to the earth. The idea is, that he is crushed or smitten by the wicked, and sinks to the ground.

That the poor may fall - Rather, as in the original, “and the poor fall;” that is, they do fall. The idea is, that they do in fact fall by the arm of the persecutor and oppressor who treads them down.

By his strong ones - Margin, “Or, into his strong parts.” The text here best expresses the sense. The reference is to the strong ones - the followers and abettors of the “wicked” here referred to - his train of followers. The allusion seems to be to this wicked man represented as the head or leader of a band of robbers or outlaws - strong, athletic men engaged under him in committing robbery on the unprotected. See Psalms 10:8-9. Under these strong men the poor and the unprotected fall, and are crushed to the earth. The meaning of the whole verse, therefore, may be thus expressed: “And the crushed one sinks down, and the poor fall under his mighty ones.” The word rendered “poor” is in the plural, while the verb “fall” is in the singular; but this construction is not uncommon when the verb precedes. Nordheimer, Hebrew Grammar, Section 759, i., a. The word rendered “poor” means the wretched or the afflicted, and refers here to those who were unprotected - the victims of oppression and robbery.

The following account of the condition of Palestine at the present time will illustrate the passage here, and show how true the statements of the psalmist are to nature. It occurs in “The land and the Book,” by W. M. Thomson, D. D., Missionary in Syria. He is speaking of the sandy beach, or the sand hills, in the neighborhood of Mount Carmel, and says, respecting these “sandy downs, with feathery reeds, running far inland, the chosen retreat of wild boars and wild Arabs,” “The Arab robber larks like a wolf among these sand heaps, and often springs out suddenly upon the solitary traveler, robs him in a trice, and then plunges again into the wilderness of sand hills and reedy downs, where pursuit is fruitless. Our friends are careful not to allow us to straggle about or lag behind, and yet it seems absurd to fear a surprise here - Khaifa before, and Acre in the rear, and travelers in sight on both sides. Robberies, however, do often occur, just where we now are. Strange country! and it has always been so.” And then quoting the passage before us Psalms 10:8-10, he adds, “A thousand rascals, the living originals of this picture, are this day crouching and lying in wait all over the country to catch poor helpless travelers. You observe that all these people we meet or pass are armed; nor would they venture to go from Acre to Khaifa without their musket, although the cannon of the castles seem to command every foot of the way.” Vol. i., pp. 487, 488.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 10:10. He croucheth — Of the scoffing, mocking, insulting, and insidious conduct of Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, the fourth and sixth chapters of Nehemiah give abundant proof; and possibly the allusion is to them. The lion squats down and gathers himself together, that he may make the greater spring.


 
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