| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? | 1O LORD, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble? |
| 2The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. | 2The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others. |
| 3For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. | 3For they brag about their evil desires; they praise the greedy and curse the LORD. |
| 4The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. | 4The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead. |
| 5His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. | 5Yet they succeed in everything they do. They do not see your punishment awaiting them. They sneer at all their enemies. |
| 6He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. | 6They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us! We will be free of trouble forever!” |
| 7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. | 7Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats. Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues. |
| 8He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. | 8They lurk in ambush in the villages, waiting to murder innocent people. They are always searching for helpless victims. |
| 9He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. | 9Like lions crouched in hiding, they wait to pounce on the helpless. Like hunters they capture the helpless and drag them away in nets. |
| 10He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. | 10Their helpless victims are crushed; they fall beneath the strength of the wicked. |
| 11He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it. | 11The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!” |
| 12Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble. | 12Arise, O LORD! Punish the wicked, O God! Do not ignore the helpless! |
| 13Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it. | 13Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, “God will never call us to account.” |
| 14Thou 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. | 14But 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. |
| 15Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none. | 15Break the arms of these wicked, evil people! Go after them until the last one is destroyed. |
| 16The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land. | 16The LORD is king forever and ever! The godless nations will vanish from the land. |
| 17LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: | 17LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. |
| 18To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress. | 18You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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