| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? | 1Why, LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? |
| 2The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. | 2In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. |
| 3For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. | 3He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. |
| 4The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. | 4In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. |
| 5His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. | 5His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies. |
| 6He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. | 6He says to himself, "Nothing will ever shake me." He swears, "No one will ever do me harm." |
| 7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. | 7His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. |
| 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. | 8He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his 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 a lion in cover he lies in wait. He lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. |
| 10He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. | 10His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength. |
| 11He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it. | 11He says to himself, "God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees." |
| 12Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble. | 12Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. |
| 13Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it. | 13Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, "He won't call me 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, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. |
| 15Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none. | 15Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out. |
| 16The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land. | 16The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. |
| 17LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: | 17You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, |
| 18To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress. | 18defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror. |
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