Psalm 10:13
New International Version
Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, “He won’t call me to account"?

New Living Translation
Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, “God will never call us to account.”

English Standard Version
Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

Berean Standard Bible
Why has the wicked man renounced God? He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.”

King James Bible
Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

New King James Version
Why do the wicked renounce God? He has said in his heart, “You will not require an account.

New American Standard Bible
Why has the wicked treated God disrespectfully? He has said to himself, “You will not require an account.

NASB 1995
Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said to himself, “You will not require it.”

NASB 1977
Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said to himself, “Thou wilt not require it.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said in his heart, “You will not require it.”

Amplified Bible
Why has the wicked spurned and shown disrespect to God? He has said to himself, “You will not require me to account.”

Christian Standard Bible
Why has the wicked person despised God? He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Why has the wicked person despised God? He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”

American Standard Version
Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God, And say in his heart, Thou wilt not require it?

Contemporary English Version
The wicked don't respect you. In their hearts they say, "God won't punish us!"

English Revised Version
Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God, and say in his heart, Thou wilt not require it?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Why does the wicked person despise God? Why does he say to himself, "God doesn't care"?

Good News Translation
How can the wicked despise God and say to themselves, "He will not punish me"?

International Standard Version
Why do the wicked despise God and say to themselves, "God will not seek justice."?

Majority Standard Bible
Why has the wicked man renounced God? He says to himself, ?You will never call me to account.?

NET Bible
Why does the wicked man reject God? He says to himself, "You will not hold me accountable."

New Heart English Bible
Why does the wicked person condemn God, and say in his heart, "You will not seek (an accounting)."

Webster's Bible Translation
Why doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

World English Bible
Why does the wicked person condemn God, and say in his heart, “God won’t call me into account?”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Why has the wicked despised God? He has said in his heart, “It is not required.”

Young's Literal Translation
Wherefore hath the wicked despised God? He hath said in his heart, 'It is not required.'

Smith's Literal Translation
For what did the unjust one despise God, saying in his heart, Thou wilt not search?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Wherefore hath the wicked provoked God? for he hath said in his heart: He will not require it.

Catholic Public Domain Version
How has the impious one provoked God? For he has said in his heart, “He will not inquire.”

New American Bible
Why should the wicked scorn God, say in their hearts, “God does not care”?

New Revised Standard Version
Why do the wicked renounce God, and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Why does the wicked provoke God? He says in his heart, God does not seek vengeance.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Why does the sinner anger God and say his heart, "You will not require it"?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God, And say in his heart: 'Thou wilt not require'?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Wherefore, has the wicked provoked God? for he has said in his heart, He will not require it.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Perils of the Pilgrim
12Arise, O LORD! Lift up Your hand, O God! Do not forget the helpless. 13Why has the wicked man renounced God? He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.” 14But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.…

Cross References
Proverbs 21:24
Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man—of him who acts with excessive pride.

Job 21:14-15
Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways. / Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’

Isaiah 57:11
Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lied and failed to remember Me or take this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear Me?

Jeremiah 2:27
say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Yet in the time of trouble, they say, ‘Rise up and save us!’

Malachi 3:13-15
“Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ / You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts? / So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’”

Psalm 73:11
The wicked say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?”

Psalm 14:1
For the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.

Psalm 94:7
They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.”

Isaiah 5:19
to those who say, “Let Him hurry and hasten His work so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come so that we may know it!”

Ezekiel 8:12
“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’”

Romans 1:28-32
Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. / They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, / slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. ...

2 Peter 3:3-4
Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. / “Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”

Luke 18:2-5
“In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men. / And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ / For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men, ...

James 4:13-16
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” / You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. / Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” ...

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. / For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie, / in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.


Treasury of Scripture

Why does the wicked scorn God? he has said in his heart, You will not require it.

contemn

Psalm 74:10,18
O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? …

Numbers 11:20
But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?

2 Samuel 12:9,10
Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon…

Thou

Genesis 9:5
And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

Genesis 42:22
And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.

2 Chronicles 24:22
Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.

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Account Condemn Contemn Despised Evil-Doer Heart Low Opinion Renounce Require Required Revile Spurned Wherefore Wicked Wilt Won't
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Psalm 10
1. David complains of the wicked
12. He prays for remedy
16. He professes his confidence














Why has the wicked man renounced God?
This phrase reflects a common theme in the Psalms, where the psalmist grapples with the apparent prosperity and audacity of the wicked. The act of renouncing God indicates a deliberate rejection of divine authority and moral order. In biblical context, renouncing God is seen as a grave sin, often leading to judgment. This question echoes the lament found in other scriptures, such as Psalm 73, where the psalmist struggles with the success of the wicked. The renunciation of God by the wicked is a denial of His sovereignty and justice, which is a recurring issue throughout the Old Testament, particularly in the prophetic books where Israel is often called to account for similar attitudes.

He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.”
This phrase reveals the inner thoughts and arrogance of the wicked, who believe they can act without consequence. The belief that God will not call them to account reflects a misunderstanding or denial of God's omniscience and justice. This attitude is reminiscent of the serpent's deception in Genesis 3, where doubt is cast on God's word and judgment. Theologically, this reflects a lack of fear of the Lord, which is considered the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). The idea of divine accountability is a central theme in scripture, with numerous passages affirming that God will judge the actions of all people (Ecclesiastes 12:14, Romans 14:12). This phrase also foreshadows the final judgment described in Revelation, where all will be held accountable before God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Wicked Man
Represents those who live in defiance of God, often characterized by arrogance and a lack of accountability.

2. God
The sovereign and just deity who is often questioned by the wicked but remains the ultimate judge.

3. The Psalmist
The author of the psalm, who is lamenting the apparent success and arrogance of the wicked.
Teaching Points
The Arrogance of the Wicked
The wicked man's denial of accountability is rooted in arrogance. This attitude is a warning against pride and self-deception.

God's Justice is Certain
Despite the wicked man's belief, God's justice is inevitable. Believers can find comfort in knowing that God will ultimately hold everyone accountable.

The Importance of Accountability
As Christians, we are called to live with an awareness of God's presence and judgment, fostering a life of integrity and humility.

Trust in God's Timing
While it may seem that the wicked prosper, believers are encouraged to trust in God's perfect timing for justice.Verse 13. - Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? God's long-suffering does but make the wicked despise him. Wherefore is this allowed to continue (comp. ver. 1)? He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it; rather, as in the Prayer-beck Version, while he cloth say in his heart (see vers. 6, 11).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Why
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

has the wicked man
רָשָׁ֥ע ׀ (rā·šā‘)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7563: Wrong, an, bad person

renounced
נִאֵ֖ץ (ni·’êṣ)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5006: To spurn, treat with contempt

God?
אֱלֹהִ֑ים (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

He says
אָמַ֥ר (’ā·mar)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to himself,
בְּ֝לִבּ֗וֹ (bə·lib·bōw)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3820: The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre

“You will never
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

call [me] to account.”
תִּדְרֹֽשׁ׃ (tiḏ·rōš)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 1875: To tread, frequent, to follow, to seek, ask, to worship


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OT Poetry: Psalm 10:13 Why does the wicked person condemn God (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 10:12
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