Psalms 10:5
in Psalms 10He is secure in his ways at all times; Your lofty judgments are far from him; he sneers at all his foes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
His ways are firm at all times; Thy judgments are far above out of his sight: As for all his adversaries, he puffeth at them.
KJV
His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
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This verse in Psalms 10
Commentary
13 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
His ways are always grievous - His paths; his manner of life; his conduct toward God; his dealings with men. The word rendered “are grievious,” יחילוּ yāchiylû - has been variously rendered. The Latin Vulgate renders it, “His ways are defiled.” So the Septuagint. Coverdale renders it, “His ways are always filthy.” Prof. Alexander, “His ways are firm.” So DeWette, “Es gelingen seine Wege.” Horsley, “His ways are confident.” This variety in the interpretation arises from the ambiguity of the original word - חול chûl.
This site's exposition
the wicked man does not seek Him
on Psalms 10:4-6
Pride is what keeps the wicked man from seeking God. His own schemes have no God in them, an atheism of practice in a man who leaves God out of every calculation. God's lofty judgments are far from him, and he says he will not be moved.
This site's exposition
He is secure in his ways
The Hebrew verb for secure carries the sense of standing firm, so his ways prosper at all times. God's judgments are on high, above his sight, and he never reckons with them. Sneers is literally puffs, a breath of contempt.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"God is not in his sight, his ways are polluted in all time." He that knows what in the soul gives joy and gladness, knows how great an ill it is to be abandoned by the light of truth: since a great ill do men reckon the blindness of their bodily eyes, whereby this light is withdrawn. How great then the punishment he endures, who through the prosperous issue of his sins is brought to that pass, that God is not in his sight, and that his ways are polluted in all time, that is, his thoughts and counsels are unclean! "Thy judgments are taken away from his face." For the mind conscious of evil, whilst it seems to itself to suffer no punishment, believes that God doth not judge, and so are God's judgments taken away from its face; while this very thing is great condemnation. "And he shall have dominion over all his enemies." For so is it delivered, that he will overcome all kings, and alone obtain the kingdom; since too according to the Apostle, who preaches concerning him, "He shall sit in the temple of God, exalting himself above all that is worshipped and that is called God."
This is the reason why the sinner provokes the Lord, because he does not keep him before his eyes, because he turns himself away from God. The one who sins conducts himself in this way. Concerning all of this, God says, "They have shown me …
Do you see the folly? Do you see the unutterable ruin? Do you see the destruction gradually increasing? Do you see the things prized by the mindless, in reality full of deep misery, and now they sink from sight? Those people are applauded in their sins, commended in their wrongdoing. This is the first pitfall, sufficient to trip up the unwary. Hence it is much more necessary to welcome those who censure and correct us than those who applaud and flatter us to the point of destruction. The latter, in fact, prove the ruination of the stupid and impel them to worse evil—as though even by puffing up these sinners they led them on the way to folly.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"They are removed." Here he shows how they contemn divine judgment. And first, he sets forth the cause. Second, he shows the effect, at "all his enemies." "Your judgments," that is, your benefits, "are removed from his face," that is, from his mind and memory; …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Judgments - Thy threatenings denounced against, and punishments inflicted upon sinners. Are far - He doth not regard or fear them: yea he despises them, being confident that he can blow them away with a breath. This is a gesture of contempt or disdain, both in scripture, and other authors.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
His ways are always grievous,....
Tell him of God's judgments which will be executed upon those that go on still in their trespasses, and he will not be convinced that there is any reality in them; they are far above out of his sight, and therefore he thinks they are mere bugbears.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
"His ways are always grievous." To himself they are hard. Men go a rough road when they go to hell. God has hedged-up the way of sin: O what folly to leap these hedges and fall among the thorns! To others, also, his ways cause much sorrow and vexation; but what cares he? He sits like the idol god upon his monstrous car, utterly regardless of the crowds who are crushed as he rolls along. "Thy judgments are far above out of his sight:"he looks high, but not high enough. As God is forgotten, so are his judgments.
"His ways are always grievous." To himself they are hard. Men go a rough road when they go to hell. God has hedged-up the way of sin: O what folly to leap these hedges and fall among the thorns! To others, also, his ways cause much sorrow and vexation; but what cares he? He sits like the idol god upon his monstrous car, utterly regardless of the crowds who are crushed as he rolls along. "Thy judgments are far above out of his sight:"he looks high, but not high enough. As God is forgotten, so are his judgments. He is not able to comprehend the things of God; a swine may sooner look through a telescope at the stars than this man study the Word of God to understand the righteousness of the Lord. "As for all his enemies, he puffeth at them." He defies and domineers; and when men resist his injurious behaviour, he sneers at them, and threatens to annihilate them with a puff. In most languages there is a word of contempt borrowed from the action of puffing with the lips, and in English we should express the idea by saying, "He cries, 'Pooh! Pooh!' at his enemies." Ah! there is one enemy who will not thus be puffed at. Death will puff at the candle of his life and blow it out, and the wicked boaster will find it grim work to brag in the tomb.
His ways are always grievous - Or, He is travailing in pain to bring forth iniquity at all times. He is full of lust, or irregular and unholy desires; he conceives and brings forth sin; and sin being finished, time, place, and opportunity concurring, death is soon brought forth. Thy judgments are far above out of his sight - He is so blinded with sin, that he cannot see the operations of God’s hand. He puffeth at them - He whistles at them; insults God, and despises men. He overthrows them with his breath; he has only to give orders, and they are destroyed. “Bring me the head of Giaffer,” said an Asiatic despot. The head was immediately brought! No trial, no judge, no jury; but the despot’s will and caprice.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יָ֘חִ֤ילוּ | yachilu | they endure | H2342 → | 58 times |
| דְרָכָ֨יו | darekv | ways his | H1870 → | 707 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | at every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֵ֗ת | ʾet | time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| מָר֣וֹם | marom | [are] height | H4791 → | 54 times |
| מִ֭שְׁפָּטֶיךָ | mishpateikha | judgments your | H4941 → | 422 times |
| מִנֶּגְדּ֑וֹ | minegdo | from before him | H5048 → | 151 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| צ֝וֹרְרָ֗יו | tzorav | opposers his | H6887 → | 54 times |
| יָפִ֥יחַ | yafiach | he breathes out | H6315 → | |
| בָּהֶֽם׃ | bahem | at them |
יָ֘חִ֤ילוּthey endure
yachiluH2342 →58 times
דְרָכָ֨יוways his
darekvH1870 →707 times
בְּכָל־at every
bekholH3605 →5413 times
עֵ֗תtime
ʾetH6256 →296 times
מָר֣וֹם[are] height
maromH4791 →54 times
מִ֭שְׁפָּטֶיךָjudgments your
mishpateikhaH4941 →422 times
מִנֶּגְדּ֑וֹfrom before him
minegdoH5048 →151 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
צ֝וֹרְרָ֗יוopposers his
tzoravH6887 →54 times
יָפִ֥יחַhe breathes out
yafiachH6315 →
בָּהֶֽם׃at them
bahem
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 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.”
it leads to
- Psalms 34:6
This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- Proverbs 14:31
Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
- James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
- Psalms 146:7–8
He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,
- Isaiah 33:10
“Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift Myself up. Now I will be exalted.
- Psalms 34:6
Through
Hosea 14:9Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in…
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:29
The way of the LORD is a refuge to the upright, but destruction awaits those who do evil.
- Psalms 107:43
Let him who is wise pay heed to these things and consider the loving devotion of the LORD.
- John 8:47
Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
- Proverbs 10:29
About Psalms
This page draws on 12 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; Didymus the Blind, FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 10:5; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 10:10; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.