10:15 Break the arm 1 of the wicked and evil man!
Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds, 2
which he thought you would not discover. 3
10:18 You defend 4 the fatherless and oppressed, 5
so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them. 6
1 sn The arm symbolizes the strength of the wicked, which they use to oppress and exploit the weak.
2 tn Heb “you seek his wickedness.” As in v. 13, the verb דָרַשׁ (darash, “seek”) is used here in the sense of “seek an accounting.” One could understand the imperfect as describing a fact, “you hold him accountable,” or as anticipating divine judgment, “you will hold him accountable.” However, since the verb is in apparent parallelism with the preceding imperative (“break”), it is better to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s desire or request.
3 tn Heb “you will not find.” It is uncertain how this statement relates to what precedes. Some take בַל (bal), which is used as a negative particle in vv. 4, 6, 11, 18, as asseverative here, “Indeed find (i.e., judge his wickedness).” The translation assumes that the final words are an asyndetic relative clause which refers back to what the wicked man boasted in God’s face (“you will not find [i.e., my wickedness]”). See v. 13.
4 tn Heb “to judge (on behalf of),” or “by judging (on behalf of).”
5 tn Heb “crushed.” See v. 10.
6 tn Heb “he will not add again [i.e., “he will no longer”] to terrify, man from the earth.” The Hebrew term אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh, “man”) refers here to the wicked nations (v. 16). By describing them as “from the earth,” the psalmist emphasizes their weakness before the sovereign, eternal king.