תהלים 10:18

Hebrew Modern Translation

לשפט יתום ודך בל יוסיף עוד לערץ אנוש מן הארץ׃

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Aleppo Codex
יתום ודך בל-יוסיף עוד לערץ אנוש מן-הארץ

Biblia Hebrica Stuttgartensia (1967/77)
לִשְׁפֹּ֥ט יָתֹ֗ום וָ֫דָ֥ךְ בַּל־יוֹסִ֥יף עֹ֑וד לַעֲרֹ֥ץ אֱ֝נֹ֗ושׁ מִן־הָאָֽרֶץ ׃

Westminster Leningrad Codex
לִשְׁפֹּט יָתוֹם וָדָךְ בַּל־יוֹסִיף עוֹד לַעֲרֹץ אֱנוֹשׁ מִן־הָאָֽרֶץ ׃

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

judge: Psalms 10:14, Psalms 72:4, Psalms 82:3, Psalms 94:1-6, Isaiah 11:4, Luke 18:7, Luke 18:8

the man: Psalms 17:14, Luke 16:25, 1 Corinthians 15:47, 1 Corinthians 15:48, Philippians 3:18, Philippians 3:19

oppress: or, terrify

Reciprocal: Exodus 21:26 - General Exodus 22:23 - I will surely Leviticus 25:14 - General 2 Samuel 18:19 - avenged him Job 20:19 - Because Psalms 7:9 - Oh Psalms 12:7 - this Psalms 13:2 - enemy Psalms 68:5 - A father Psalms 71:2 - incline Psalms 140:12 - the Lord Psalms 146:7 - executeth Ecclesiastes 5:8 - regardeth James 5:16 - The effectual

Gill's Notes on the Bible

To judge the fatherless and the oppressed,.... That is, God will cause his ear to hear the cries of his people, so as to avenge the wrongs done to the fatherless, and them that are oppressed by the man of sin; see Revelation 11:18;

that the man of the earth may no more oppress: or "terrify" p, the dear children of God, and faithful witnesses of Christ, as he has done; for by "the man of the earth" is not meant carnal worldly men in general, "the wicked of the earth", as the Targum renders it; who are so called because their original is from the earth, and they dwell in earthly tabernacles, and shall return to the earth again, and are earthly minded men, and have much of this world's things; and are therefore sometimes called the men and children of this world, and who, generally speaking, are oppressors of the saints; and who shall cease to be so in the latter day, when the kingdom shall be given to the saints of the most High; but particularly the man of sin, the Romish antichrist, seems intended, who is the beast that is risen up out of the earth, Revelation 13:11; and so the words may be rendered here, "the man out of the earth" q; whose kingdom and government is an earthly one, and is supported by the kings of the earth, and with earthly power and grandeur, and with earthly views and worldly ends: he has been the great oppressor and terrifier of the poor people of God; but when Christ comes to avenge them on him, he will no more oppress, he will be taken and cast alive into the lake of fire; see Revelation 13:10. The words may be rendered according to the accents thus, "to judge the fatherless and the oppressed; he shall not add any more": for there is an "athnach" which makes a proposition "under" עוד, "any more": and the sense is, God shall so thoroughly avenge the injuries of the fatherless and the oppressed, that there will be no need to add thereunto or repeat the vengeance, it will be an utter destruction; and then follows another distinct end of causing his ear to hear, namely, "to shake terribly the man of the earth", or "to shake terribly man from off the earth" r, the man of sin, as before; see Isaiah 2:19; or, as Jarchi interprets the words, "to beat and break in pieces"; that is, antichrist and his kingdom; so Montanus.

p לערוץ "perterrefacere", Piscator; "terrere", Musculus, Vatablus; so Ainsworth. q אנוש מן הארץ "homines de terra", Pagninus, Montanus. r So Jarchi from Aben Ezra.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

To judge the fatherless - That is, to vindicate the orphan; to rescue him from the hand of those who would oppress and wrong him. In other words, the psalmist prays that God would manifest himself in his real and proper character as the vindicator of the fatherless (see the note at Psalms 10:14), or of those who are represented by the fatherless - the feeble and the helpless.

And the oppressed - Those who are downtrodden, crushed, and wronged. See the note at Psalms 9:9.

That the man of the earth - literally, “the man from the earth;” that is, that man springing from the earth, or created of the dust Genesis 2:7 - man frail, short-lived, feeble - should no more set up an unjust authority, trample on the rights of his fellow-worms, or suppose that he is superior to his fellow-creatures.

May no more oppress - Margin, “terrify.” The original word means properly to terrify, to make afraid; that is, in this place, to terrify by his harsh and oppressive conduct. It is to be observed here that the original word - ערץ ‛ârats - has a very close resemblance in sound to the word rendered earth - ארץ 'erets - and that this is commonly supposed to be an instance of the figure of speech called paronomasia, when the words have the same sound, but are of different significations. It is not certain, however, that there is in this case any designed resemblance, but it is rather to be supposed that it was accidental. In regard to the prayer in this verse, it may be proper to observe that there is always occasion to utter it, and will be until the Gospel shall pervade the hearts of all men. One of the most common forms of wickedness in our world is oppression - the oppression of the fatherless, of the poor, of the dependent - the oppression of the subjects of government, and the oppression of the slave. One of the most affecting things in regard to this is, that it is done by a man made “from the earth,” - a child of dust - a creature composed of clay - of no better mould than others, and soon to return “to” the dust from which he was taken. Yet frail and weak man strives to feel that he is better than those clothed with a skin not colored like his own, or those born in a more bumble condition of life; and, in defiance of all the laws of God, and all the rights of his fellow-men, he crushes and grinds them to the earth. For such sins God will interpose, and he will yet show himself to be the helper of the fatherless and the oppressed. May He hasten the day when oppression and wrong shall cease in the world!

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 10:18. That the man of the earth may no more oppress. — I believe the Hebrew will be better translated thus: "That he may not add any more to drive away the wretched man from the land." Destroy the influence of the tyrant; and let him not have it again in his power to add even one additional act of oppression to those which he has already committed.

How many for the sake of their religion, and because they would serve God with a pure conscience, have, by wicked lords, proud and arrogant land owners, been driven off their farms, turned out of their houses, deprived of their employments, and exposed to wretchedness! While they served the devil, and were regardless of their souls, they had quiet and peaceable possession; but when they turned to the Lord, and became sober and industrious, attended the means of grace, read their Bible, and were frequent in prayer, then the vile man of the earth drove them from their dwellings! In the sight of such Philistines, piety towards God is the highest of crimes. What a dreadful account must these give to the Judge of the fatherless and the oppressed!

ANALYSIS OF THE TENTH PSALM

This Psalm divides itself into three parts: -

I. A complaint against the enemies of the godly.

II. A narration of the enemies' malice.

III. A petition to be delivered from them.

I. 1. He complains of God's absence, which is quickened by the question, 1. "Why standest thou afar off?" 2. "Why hidest thou myself in times of trouble?" Psalms 10:1.

II. He complains of the enemies: "The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor."

These he describes by eight characters: -

1. Insolence, pride, and the effect, persecution of good men. Having acquired dignity, places of honour, and riches, they become persecutors, they conspire to oppress good men. "Let them be taken in their own devices," Psalms 10:2. Amen.

2. The wicked man glories in mischief which is a sign of extreme malice: "The wicked boasteth of his heart's desire," Psalms 10:3.

3. He applauds and encourages others in their rapine and spoil, to which they are moved by their covetousness: "He blesseth the covetous," Psalms 10:3.

4. He contemns God and man. 1. MAN. He never thinks of being called to an account: God's "judgments are out of his sight, and he puffs at his enemies." 2. GOD. Him he reverences not: "He will not seek after God; neither is he in all his thoughts," Psalms 10:4-5.

5. He lives in profane security: "He saith in his heart, I shall never be moved; I shall never be in adversity;" I am elevated beyond the reach of misfortune, Psalms 10:6.

6. He is full of falsehood and deceit: "His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and fraud." He will not stick at an oath. He will curse himself; and take God to witness in his exactions, that he is doing nothing but what is right, Psalms 10:7.

7. He is cruel. See the 9th and 10th verses, where he is compared to a thief, an archer, an assassin, a lion, c. He is bad in heart, Psalms 10:6 in tongue, Psalms 10:7; in work, Psalms 10:8; Psalms 10:10: - he is altogether bad.

8. He is a close atheist: "He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten; he hideth his face, and will never see it:" which is the cause of his cruelty, falsehood, security, c., Psalms 10:11.

III. The THIRD part is a petition to be freed from the wicked man: "Arise, O Lord, lift up thy hand, forget not the humble," Psalms 10:12. To induce God thus to act, he uses two arguments:-

1. That thereby God would assert his own glory. For why should the wicked be suffered thus to blaspheme? "Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it," Psalms 10:13.

2. The second argument is taken from God's nature and work. 1. In punishing wicked men. 2. In defending the helpless. "Surely thou hast seen it for thou beholdest mischief and spite to requite it," c., Psalms 10:14.

Then he returns to his prayer, and enforces his second argument taken from the justice and office of God:

1. That he would deprive the wicked of his power and strength: "Break thou the arm of the wicked - seek out his wickedness till thou find none," Psalms 10:15. Let none escape-let them appear no more.

2. That he would hear and defend the righteous. Be to thy people what thou hast been in times past. 1. "The Lord is King for ever and ever." 2. He had expelled the Canaanites before them: "The heathen are perished out of the land." 3. "Thou hast heard the desire of the humble," Psalms 10:16-17.

Upon which he concludes with profession of strong confidence:-

1. "Thou wilt prepare the heart of the humble."

2. "Thou wilt cause thine ear to hear." 1. To the safety of the oppressed: "To judge the fatherless and the poor," Psalms 10:18. 2. To the ruin of the oppressor: "That the man of the earth may no more oppress" that he may have neither power nor influence left by which he may be a plague to the upright, or a supporter of infidelity, Psalms 10:18.