אֵל נְקָמוֹת ה' אֵל נְקָמוֹת הוֹפִיעַ

God of vengeance,Lord, God of vengeance, appear.

הִנָּשֵׂא שֹׁפֵט הָאָרֶץ הָשֵׁב גְּמוּל עַל גֵּאִים

Because God’s justice is not always manifest in the world and it can seem as if God hides Himself, withholding His power, the psalmist entreats Him: Rise up, Judge of the earth; reveal Yourself as the Ruler and Judge of the world. Bring retribution to the arrogant. The word ge’im, translated here and elsewhere in Psalms as “the arrogant,” most often refers to wicked people who have no regard for others.

עַד מָתַי רְשָׁעִים ה'עַד מָתַי רְשָׁעִים יַעֲלֹזוּ

How long for the wicked, Lord? How long will You allow them to continue in their evil ways? How long will the wicked exult?

יַבִּיעוּ יְדַבְּרוּ עָתָק יִתְאַמְּרוּ כָּל פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן

They express themselves with arrogance; all the evildoers exalt themselves. How long will all this persist?

עַמְּךָ ה' יְדַכְּאוּ וְנַחֲלָתְךָ יְעַנּוּ

In addition to engaging in self-aggrandizement, the wicked also cause suffering to others: They crush Your people, Lord; they afflict those who reside in Your portion, the Land of Israel. Alternatively, the words “Your portion” themselves refer to the people of Israel, who are at times called God’s portion.

אַלְמָנָה וְגֵר יַהֲרֹגוּ וִיתוֹמִים יְרַצֵּחוּ

They slay the widow and the proselyte, and they murder the orphan; these all are the most vulnerable, with no personal protector.

וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֹא יִרְאֶה יָּהּ וְלֹא יָבִין אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב

When God chooses not to intervene, the wicked, unpunished, believe they can do as they please: They say: The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not comprehend what we are doing. Even if they believe that God exists, they assume that He takes no interest in people or in what they do. In their view, He has distanced Himself from the world to the extent that He is indifferent to its affairs.

בִּינוּ בֹּעֲרִים בָּעָם וּכְסִילִים מָתַי תַּשְׂכִּילוּ

The psalmist responds to this attitude: Take heed, you boors among the people. Fools, when will you learn?

הנֹטַע אֹזֶן הלֹא יִשְׁמָע אִם יֹצֵר עַיִן הֲלֹא יַבִּיט

He who sets the ear in place, does He not hear? He who forms the eye, does He not see?

היֹסֵר גּוֹיִם הֲלֹא יוֹכִיחַ הַמְלַמֵּד אָדָם דָּעַת

He who chastises nations, He who teaches man knowledge, shall He not rebuke? Can it be that He who teaches all the nations will not instruct an individual human being? Is it possible that He who confers knowledge is incapable of understanding? On the contrary, when God chooses not to intervene, refraining from punishing the wicked or rewarding the good, He does so for reasons that are far beyond our comprehension, as the following verses detail.

ה' יֹדֵעַ מַחְשְׁבוֹת אָדָם כִּי הֵמָּה הָבֶל

The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are vain, transient, and insignificant. He knows that grandiose plans that the wicked make for themselves, trampling others in the process, ultimately come to naught.

אַשְׁרֵי הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר תְּיַסְּרֶנּוּ יָּהּ וּמִתּוֹרָתְךָ תְלַמְּדֶנּוּ

The psalmist, turning his attention to those who suffer from the wicked, suggests an additional perspective: Blessed is the man whom You chastise, Lord, whom You instruct with Your teaching. Suffering serves as atonement for sin and a means of redirecting a person toward a better, loftier path. It is not an indication of God’s indifference toward the one who is suffering, but rather, it is a form of instruction.

לְהַשְׁקִיט לוֹ מִימֵי רָע עַד יִכָּרֶה לָרָשָׁע שָׁחַת

You arrange to grant him respite in days of evil. God’s control in the world, which is not expressed through immediate reward and punishment, is not readily perceived by people. Still, He provides one receiving chastisement with a measure of relief that allows him to endure until a pit is dug for the wicked person, who will ultimately fall in and meet his destruction.

כִּי לֹא יִטֹּשׁ ה' עַמּוֹ וְנַחֲלָתוֹ לֹא יַעֲזֹב

Indeed, even if it is not always evident, the Lord will not abandon His people, nor will He forsake His portion.

כִּי עַד צֶדֶק יָשׁוּב מִשְׁפָּט וְאַחֲרָיו כָּל יִשְׁרֵי לֵב

Judgment will return with righteousness, and all the upright of heart will follow it. After this judgment of the wicked, the hopes of the upright will be realized.

מִי יָקוּם לִי עִם מְרֵעִים מִי יִתְיַצֵּב לִי עִם פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן

The psalmist muses: Who will rise up for me, to assist me to struggle against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against the evildoers?

לוּלֵי ה' עֶזְרָתָה לִּי כִּמְעַט שָׁכְנָה דוּמָה נַפְשִׁי

Had the Lord not helped me, my soul would soon have dwelled in silence, as I would have died and gone to the grave.

אִם אָמַרְתִּי מָטָה רַגְלִי חַסְדְּךָ ה' יִסְעָדֵנִי

When I say to myself: My foot is stumbling and I am about to fall, Your kindness, Lord, comes to my aid and supports me.

בְּרֹב שַׂרְעַפַּי בְּקִרְבִּי תַּנְחוּמֶיךָ יְשַׁעַשְׁעוּ נַפְשִׁי

In the midst of my many troubled thoughts, Your consolations soothe me. The realization that God assists me counteracts the thoughts of desperation and anguish that beset me.

היְחָבְרְךָ כִּסֵּא הַוּוֹת יֹצֵר עָמָל עֲלֵי חֹק

Can the seat of calamity, the dominion of evil in the world, be associated with You, that seat which creates evil that is given a place of importance above the law?

יָגוֹדּוּ עַל נֶפֶשׁ צַדִּיק וְדָם נָקִי יַרְשִׁיעוּ

They, those evildoers alluded to in the previous verse, band themselves against the lives of the righteous and convict the blood of the innocent; in condemning the innocent, they may even sentence them to death and thereby shed their blood.

וַיְהִי ה' לִי לְמִשְׂגָּב וֵאלֹהַי לְצוּר מַחְסִי

But the Lord is my stronghold; my God, the rock of my refuge.

וַיָּשֶׁב עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת אוֹנָם וּבְרָעָתָם יַצְמִיתֵם יַצְמִיתֵם ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ

He will requite them for their wickedness and destroy them in their own evil; as noted in several places in the book of Proverbs, the evil done by sinners often serves as their own undoing, the means by which the wicked are punished and ultimately destroyed. The Lord our God will destroy them.