תהלים 10:1

Hebrew Modern Translation

למה יהוה תעמד ברחוק תעלים לעתות בצרה׃

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Aleppo Codex
יהוה תעמד ברחוק תעלים לעתות בצרה

Biblia Hebrica Stuttgartensia (1967/77)
לָמָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה תַּעֲמֹ֣ד בְּרָחֹ֑וק תַּ֝עְלִ֗ים לְעִתֹּ֥ות בַּצָּרָֽה ׃

Westminster Leningrad Codex
לָמָה יְהוָה תַּעֲמֹד בְּרָחוֹק תַּעְלִים לְעִתּוֹת בַּצָּרָֽה ׃

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

am 3464, bc 541

standest: Psalms 22:1, Psalms 46:1, Jeremiah 14:8

hidest: Psalms 13:1-3, Psalms 27:9, Psalms 30:7, Psalms 44:24, Psalms 88:14, Job 13:24, Job 23:9, Job 34:29

Reciprocal: Exodus 33:7 - afar off Job 23:8 - General Psalms 22:11 - Be not Psalms 22:19 - But Psalms 27:5 - For in Psalms 35:22 - be Psalms 69:18 - Draw Psalms 74:1 - O God Psalms 78:4 - praises Psalms 89:46 - wilt Psalms 119:54 - General Proverbs 15:29 - far Isaiah 64:12 - General Ezekiel 39:23 - hid I Habakkuk 1:13 - wherefore Matthew 8:25 - and awoke Mark 4:38 - carest

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Why standest thou afar off, O Lord?.... This psalm begins with a complaint which proceeds on two general heads; the one is with respect to God, his distance from his people, and desertion of them in times of trouble, in this verse; and the other is with respect to the wicked in some following ones. God by his infinite essence and power is everywhere, and is never far off from any of his creatures; and though his glorious presence is in heaven, which, with respect to us on earth, is a land afar off, yet this hinders not but that there is often great nearness between God and his people; and when he stands afar off from them in their apprehensions, it is when he withdraws his gracious presence from them, and defers help and assistance to them, and does not immediately and directly come and visit them: this they cannot bear, they complain; they wonder that, seeing they are the objects of his love, this should be his manner of conduct towards them; they expostulate with him, and inquire for what end and upon what account he should so use them, and most earnestly desire that he would haste and come unto them and help them; see Psalms 22:1;

[why] hidest thou [thyself] in times of trouble? when God seems to take no notice of his people, does not look upon them, but turns a deaf ear to them, he is said to hide his face, his eyes and ears, from them: and this is sometimes the case of the best of saints, as it has been of Job, David, Heman, and others; and though this is done in a sovereign way by God, who comes and goes when he pleases; for sensible communion with him as much depends upon his sovereign pleasure as the gift of his grace itself does; yet, generally speaking, the denial or withdrawing of his gracious presence is by way of resentment for some disagreeable conduct and behaviour of his people; and is consistent with his everlasting and unchangeable love to them, but is what fills them with grief and sorrow; nor can they: forbear making mournful complaints upon it; and this is aggravated when it is a time of trouble with them, either of soul trouble, by reason of the prevalence of unbelief, and the force of Satan's temptations; or of bodily affliction; though times of trouble here seem to design times of persecution, as may be concluded from the connection of these words with the following; and antichristian times are times of persecution: during the reign of antichrist, in which he is suffered to make war with the saints and overcome them; and during the church's being in the wilderness the space of one thousand two hundred and sixty days or years, God may seem to stand at a distance, and to hide himself from her.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? - That is, What is the reason why thou doest this? The thought upon which this is based is that God might be expected to interpose in a time of trouble, and that His aid might then be looked for. Yet, in this case, He seemed to be an indifferent spectator of the sorrows and afflictions of the wronged and oppressed. This filled the mind of the writer with surprise, and he could not account for it, especially in view of the character of the person or persons who had wronged the author of the psalm. “To stand afar off” in such circumstances, is an attitude of indifference and unconcern - as when others do not come near us if we are sick, or are bereaved, or are in circumstances of poverty and want. That man should do this would have produced no surprise in the mind of the writer; that God should do it was something that filled him with wonder.

Why hidest thou thyself? - As if God concealed himself or kept away. He did not manifest himself, but seemed to let the afflicted man suffer alone.

In times of trouble - Affliction, sorrow, persecution. The particular trouble referred to here was that which was produced by the machinations of the enemy or enemies whose character is described in the following verses. The question, however, is put in a general form, as if it; were strange and unaccountable that God should ever fail to interpose in time of trouble. How often has there been occasion to ask this question in our world!

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

PSALM X

The psalmist complains to God of the oppressions which the poor

suffer from the wicked man, whom he describes as the hater of

the poor, 1, 2;

proud, 3;

one who will not seek God, 4;

and is regardless of his judgments, 5;

self-confident, 6;

blasphemous and deceitful, 7;

strives by subtlety and treachery to destroy the poor, 8-10;

and supposes that God is regardless of his conduct, 11.

The psalmist calls earnestly on God to preserve the poor and

humble, and cast down the oppressor, 12-15.

He foresees that his prayer is heard; that judgment will be

executed, and the poor delivered, 16-18.

NOTES ON PSALM X

Verse Psalms 10:1. Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? — This Psalm makes a part of the preceding in the Vulgate and Septuagint; and in four of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. It seems to belong to the time of the captivity, or the return of the captives. It was probably made in reference to Sanballat, and the other enemies or the Jews. There is a great similarity between this and Psalms 13:0, Psalms 14:0, Psalms 35:0, and Psalms 53:0. In these, as Calmet remarks, we find the same complaints, the same sentiments, and almost the same expressions.

God is represented here as standing at some distance, beholding the oppression of his people, and yet apparently disregarding it.