In pride the wicked pursue the needy;
The wicked proudly pursue the needy and trap them in the schemes they devise.
This verse identifies the immediate human evil that makes the lament urgent.
1Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? 2In pride the wicked pursue the needy; 3For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; 4In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; 5He is secure in his ways at all times; 6He says to himself, “I will not be moved; 7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; 8He lies in wait near the villages; 9He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; 10They are crushed and beaten down; 11He says to himself, “God has forgotten; 12Arise, O LORD! Lift up Your hand, O God! 13Why has the wicked man renounced God? 14But You have regarded trouble and grief; 15Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; 16The LORD is King forever and ever; 17You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble; 18to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed,