Psalms 10:12
in Psalms 10Arise, O LORD! Lift up Your hand, O God! Do not forget the helpless.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Arise, O Jehovah; O God, lift up thy hand: Forget not the poor.
KJV
Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
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This verse in Psalms 10
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThrough these words he asks that whenever the forbearance and kindness of God are being set in motion, and he is stirred to judgment against the wicked, in which judgment the uplifted hand of God, he will judge each one. With the figure of the lifted hand he indicates the power of divine judgment that seems to rest on and humble one until he sets in place justice against the wicked. When, however, he begins to exercise his power, giving to each one according to his merit, then he is said to be exalted.
This site's exposition
Arise, O Lord
on Psalms 10:12-15
The prayer breaks in, Arise, O LORD. The wicked man told himself God would never call him to account, and verse 14 answers that God has regarded trouble and grief and will repay it by His hand. The one praying asks God to break the arm of the wicked.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Of which the Psalmist now speaks: "Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted" (ver. 12): that is, let Thy power be made manifest. Now he had said above, "Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail, let the heathen be judged in Thy sight:" that is, in secret, where God alone seeth. This comes to pass when the ungodly have arrived at what seems great happiness to men: over whom is placed a lawgiver, such as they had deserved to have, of whom it is said, "Place a lawgiver over them, O Lord, let the heathen know that they are men." But now after that hidden punishment and vengeance it is said, "Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted;" not of course in secret, but now in glory most manifest. "That Thou forget not the poor unto the end;" that is, as the ungodly think, who say, "God hath forgotten, He turneth away His face, that He should not see unto the end." Now they deny that God seeth unto the end, who say that He careth not for things human and earthly, for the earth is as it were the end of things; in that it is the last element, in which men labour in most orderly sort, but they cannot see the order of their labours, which specially belongs to the hidden things of the Son. The Church then labouring in such times, like a ship in great waves and tempests, awaketh the Lord as if He were sleeping, that He should command the winds, and calm should be restored. He says therefore, "Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted, that Thou forget not the poor unto the end."
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Arise." Above, the Psalmist diligently pursued the order of human iniquity; here, as if driven by zeal and crying out, he implores assistance against this wickedness. And first, he implores assistance. Second, he introduces prayers and their being heard. Third, he foretells his being heard. …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the L ORD abhorreth. 4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. 5 His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v3-5
Arise, O Lord,....
Manifest thy power, exert it for the maintaining of thy own cause, lift up thy hand to give a fatal blow to these oppressors; let thy everlasting arm be made bare." 2. That he would appear for his people: " Forget not the humble, the afflicted, that are poor, that are made poorer, and are poor in spirit.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
With what bold language will faith address its God! and yet what unbelief is mingled with our strongest confidence. Fearlessly the Lord is stirred up to arise and lift up his hand, yet timidly he is begged not to forget the humble; as if Jehovah could ever be forgetful of his saints. This verse is the incessant cry of the Church, and she will never refrain therefrom until her Lord shall come in his glory to avenge her of all her adversaries.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
3:7). the humble--(Compare Ps 10:17, and Margin.) lift up thine hand--exert thy power. It is in vain to suppose God will overlook sin, however forbearing; for He carefully examines or beholds all wickedness, and will mark it by His providential (Thine hand) punishment.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Arise, O Lord - Hear their reproaches see their guile, consider thy oppressed people. “Lift up thine hand,” threaten them, that they may desist and repent. If they repent not let them be punished.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Arise, O Lord - See the note at Psa 3:7. This commences the second part of the psalm, in which the author calls on God to remember those who were oppressed and wronged by the wicked. By suffering the wicked thus to carry on their plans, God seemed to be indifferent to human affairs, and the psalmist, therefore, invokes him to interpose, and to rescue the afflicted from their grasp. O God, lift up thine hand - As one does when he is about to strike, or to exert his power. The prayer is, that God would interfere to put down the wicked. Forget not the humble - Margin, “afflicted.” The margin expresses the true sense. The idea is not that God would remember “humble” persons in the sense in which that word is now commonly used, but that he would remember those who were down-trodden, crushed, and afflicted. This is in accordance with the marginal reading in the Hebrew Bibles, which is now usually regarded as the more correct reading.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Thy hand: – Because the wicked says that Thou dost not see, do Thou arise and lift up Thy hand against him.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Why did a wicked man blaspheme the Holy One, blessed be He? Because he said in his heart that You do not seek.
He says in his heart, God hath forgotten: He hideth His face; He will never see. – If He knows, He has forgotten. Or its interpretation is: that He does not know at all, like the man who has forgotten a matter and does not know it, or like the man who knows a matter, but hides his face and is unwilling ever to see it; therefore he says:
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קוּמָ֤ה | kumah | arise ! | H6965 → | 628 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵ֭ל | ʾel | O God | H410 → | 241 times |
| נְשָׂ֣א | nesa' | lift up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| יָדֶ֑ךָ | yadekha | hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח | tishkach | you forget | H7911 → | 102 times |
| עֲנָוִֽים׃ | aniyim | humble [people] | H6035 → | 22 times |
קוּמָ֤הarise !
kumahH6965 →628 times
יְהוָ֗הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵ֭לO God
ʾelH410 →241 times
נְשָׂ֣אlift up
nesa'H5375 →656 times
יָדֶ֑ךָhand your
yadekhaH3027 →1618 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּשְׁכַּ֥חyou forget
tishkachH7911 →102 times
עֲנָוִֽים׃humble [people]
aniyimH6035 →22 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 17:7Show the wonders of Your loving devotion, You who save by Your right hand those who seek refuge from their foes.
it leads to
- Psalms 60:5
Respond and save us with Your right hand, that Your beloved may be delivered.
- Psalms 20:6
Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand.
- Psalms 5:11–12
But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever shout for joy. May You shelter them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.
- Psalms 31:21
Blessed be the LORD, for He has shown me His loving devotion in a city under siege.
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Psalms 60:5
Through
Psalms 9:12For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
it leads to
- Psalms 34:6
This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- Exodus 3:7
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
- Psalms 34:6
Through
Isaiah 33:10“Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift Myself up. Now I will be exalted.
it leads to
- Psalms 12:5
“For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
- Psalms 12:5
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 10; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 10:33-35; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.