Psalm 10 → 86
Reasoning: 12160 Output: 6377 Total: 18537
Argument
Short answer: if you read Psalm 86 right after Psalm 10, many of Psalm 10’s open questions, complaints, and petitions are picked up and answered point‑by‑point in Psalm 86, and they do so with striking overlaps in diction, roots, motifs, and form. Below are the main lines of evidence. 1) Big-picture logic: 86 reads like an answer to 10 - Psalm 10 is a complaint about God’s seeming distance while the arrogant wicked prey on the poor, climaxing in a plea that God hear, arise, and judge. - Psalm 86 is a personal prayer that assumes God will hear and act; it affirms God’s unique deity and ends with a concrete sign that will shame enemies—exactly the kind of outcome Psalm 10 asked for. - So, as a sequence: Psalm 10 = “Why are You far? Please hear and act.” Psalm 86 = “Incline Your ear; You alone are God; give strength; make the enemies see and be ashamed.” 2) High-significance lexical ties (same forms/roots; rarer items listed first) - ער”ץ “terrify, ruthless” - Ps 10:18 לַעֲרֹץ “so that man of the earth may no longer terrify” - Ps 86:14 עָדַת עָרִיצִים “an assembly of ruthless men” - Same rare root across verb (Ps 10) and adjective/noun (Ps 86); both focus on ending the terror of the violent. - אזן + קשב “ear” + “pay close attention/listen” collocation - Ps 10:17 תַקְשִׁיב אָזְנֶךָ “You will listen—Your ear” - Ps 86:1 הַטֵּה … אָזְנְךָ “Incline Your ear”; Ps 86:6 וְהַקְשִׁיבָה “and give heed” - The ear + קשב/הטה cluster is an explicit echo; 86 deploys both verbs that 10 asked for. - עזר “help” - Ps 10:14 אַתָּה … הָיִיתָ עוֹזֵר “You have been a helper” - Ps 86:17 עֲזַרְתַּנִי “You have helped me” - Same root, moving from general to personal fulfillment. - פני/הסתרת פנים “face/turning” - Ps 10:11 הִסְתִּיר פָּנָיו “He hid His face” - Ps 86:16 פְּנֵה אֵלַי “Turn to me” - Psalm 86 explicitly reverses the concealment of Ps 10 with a request for God to turn His face. - ראה “see” - Ps 10:11 בַּל־רָאָה לָנֶצַח “He will never see” - Ps 10:14 רָאִתָּה “You have seen” - Ps 86:17 וְיִרְאוּ שֹׂנְאַי “Let my enemies see” - The “seeing” controversy in Ps 10 is resolved by God’s help being made visible to enemies in Ps 86. - אף “anger” - Ps 10:4 כְּגֹבַהּ אַפּוֹ “in the height of his nose/anger” - Ps 86:15 אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם “slow to anger” - The arrogant anger of the wicked (Ps 10) is countered by God’s patient anger (Ps 86; Exod 34 formula). - לב “heart” - Ps 10:6, 11, 13 אָמַר בְּלִבּוֹ (x3) “he says in his heart” - Ps 10:17 תָּכִין לִבָּם “You will establish their heart” - Ps 86:11 יַחֵד לְבָבִי “Unite my heart”; Ps 86:12 בְּכָל־לְבָבִי - From the divided/defiant heart of the wicked (10) to the stabilized heart of the humble suppliant (10:17), to the explicitly unified heart that fears God (86:11). - גוים “nations” under God’s kingship - Ps 10:16 יְהוָה מֶלֶךְ עוֹלָם וָעֶד; אָבְדוּ גוֹיִם מֵאַרְצוֹ “YHWH is King forever; nations have perished from His land” - Ps 86:9 כָל־גּוֹיִם … יָבֹאוּ וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ … וִיכַבְּדוּ לִשְׁמֶךָ “All nations will come, bow, and honor Your name” - The kingly claim of Ps 10 leads naturally to the universal worship scene in Ps 86. - “There is no God” vs “You alone are God” - Ps 10:4 אֵין אֱלֹהִים (in his schemes) - Ps 86:10 אַתָּה אֱלֹהִים לְבַדֶּךָ; Ps 86:8 אֵין כָּמוֹךָ בָאֱלֹהִים - Direct theological rebuttal: Ps 86 answers the wicked’s creed of Ps 10. - עני/אביון/ענו (“poor, needy, humble”) - Ps 10:2, 9 עָנִי; 10:17 עֲנָוִים; 10:18 דַּךְ - Ps 86:1 עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן - Same social sphere and prayer posture. - צרה “distress” - Ps 10:1 לְעִתּוֹת בַּצָּרָה “times of trouble” - Ps 86:7 בְּיוֹם צָרָתִי “in the day of my trouble” - Ps 86 takes the general “times of trouble” and applies it personally. 3) Conceptual inversions and fulfillments - Distance vs nearness - Ps 10:1 “Why do You stand far off… hide in trouble?” - Ps 86:1, 6–7 “Incline Your ear… give heed… I call in the day of trouble for You will answer me” - Blasphemy vs honor - Ps 10:3, 13 נִאֵץ יְהוָה “he spurns the LORD” - Ps 86:9, 12 “All nations… will honor Your name”; “I will glorify Your name forever” - Power dynamics - Ps 10:12–15 “Lift Your hand… break the arm of the wicked” - Ps 86:16 “Give Your strength to Your servant” - The arm/strength field shifts from disabling the oppressor to empowering the suppliant. - Visibility and shame - Ps 10:11 “He will never see”; 10:14 “You have seen” - Ps 86:17 “Do a sign for good… let my enemies see and be ashamed” - The “sign” is a concrete answer to the skepticism of Ps 10:11. 4) Structural/genre continuity - Both are laments with the classic elements (address, complaint, petition, confidence, vow/praise). - Psalm 10 ends with kingship and the assurance that God hears the humble (10:16–18). Psalm 86 resumes exactly those two themes: - Hearing the humble: 86:1–7 is saturated with “hear/answer” language (הַטֵּה … אָזְנְךָ; חָנֵּנִי; הַאֲזִינָה; הַקְשִׁיבָה; אֶקְרָא… תַעֲנֵנִי). - Kingship/universal rule: 86:8–10 insists on God’s uniqueness and the nations’ coming worship. - Psalm 86 adds the covenant-name creed (86:15; Exod 34:6), fitting as the theological ground for the petitions Psalm 10 made (“do not forget the afflicted”). 5) “Event-sequence” plausibility in Israelite life/worship - Stage 1 (Ps 10): The community experiences oppression by arrogant, godless rulers; the poor are hunted; a communal or representative voice asks God to arise, see, hear, judge. - Stage 2 (Ps 86): An individual (Davidic voice) appropriates the communal plea, prays it personally in a time of distress, confesses God’s unique kingship, asks for strength, and requests a visible sign that will shame the ruthless. This is a plausible liturgical or pastoral progression: communal complaint followed by individual appropriation and resolve. 6) Additional, lighter ties (useful but less rare) - דרך “way” and alignment: - Ps 10:5 דְרָכָיו (the wicked’s “ways”) - Ps 86:11 דַּרְכֶּךָ (teach me “Your way”) - נֶגֶד “before/in view of”: - Ps 10:5 מִנֶּגְדּוֹ “out of his sight” - Ps 86:14 לְנֶגְדָּם “before them” - Eternal scope: - Ps 10:6 “to generation and generation”; 10:16 “forever and ever” - Ps 86:12 “I will glorify Your name forever” 7) A verse-by-verse “answer map” (selected) - 10:1 → 86:1, 6–7 (distance/hiding → God’s ear/answer in distress) - 10:4 (“no God”) → 86:8–10 (“none like You… You alone are God”) - 10:11 (He won’t see; face hidden) → 10:14 (You have seen) → 86:16–17 (Turn to me; let them see) - 10:12 (lift Your hand; don’t forget the afflicted) → 86:15–16 (God’s compassionate character; give Your strength to Your servant; save) - 10:14 (You are helper of the orphan) → 86:17 (You have helped me) - 10:16 (YHWH king; nations perish) → 86:9–10 (all nations come to worship) - 10:18 (end the terror) → 86:14, 17 (ruthless rise up; give a sign so they’re shamed) Conclusion On stylistic, formal, and lexical grounds—especially the rarer and more diagnostic items (ער”ץ; עזר; אזן+קשב; פני/hiding vs turning; ראה; the “no God” vs “You alone are God” antithesis; and the kingship→nations linkage)—Psalm 86 reads naturally as a deliberate, personal, faith-filled continuation and answer to the communal lament of Psalm 10. It takes the complaints and petitions of Psalm 10 and turns them into confident prayer, confession of God’s uniqueness, and the request for a visible sign that will vindicate the afflicted and shame the violent.
Evaluation
Score: 6.8
Evaluated at: 2025-12-10T04:14:24 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 4032 Output: 7208 Total: 11240
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 4.0 / 10
Many precise, verifiable lexical links (ערץ; ear+קשב/אזן; ‘אין אלהים’ vs ‘אתה אלהים לבדך’; ‘see’ motif). But motifs are common, no structural/editorial markers, distance and Psalm 86’s mosaic character weaken deliberateness. No cap.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 10 and Psalm 86 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 86 logically follows on from Psalm 10? Consider stylistic similarities, similarities of form, similarities of vocab or ideas, shared roots (if you're doing the search in Hebrew), connections to sequences of events common in ancient Israelite life, mythology or history shared by the two psalms.
Rarer words are more significant than commoner words. Identical forms are more significant than similar forms. The same word class is more significant than different word classes formed from the same root. Identical roots are more significant than suppletive roots.
Psalm 10:
Psalm 10
1. לָמָ֣ה
יְ֭הוָה
תַּעֲמֹ֣ד
בְּרָח֑וֹק
תַּ֝עְלִ֗ים
לְעִתּ֥וֹת
בַּצָּרָֽה׃
2. בְּגַאֲוַ֣ת
רָ֭שָׁע
יִדְלַ֣ק
עָנִ֑י
יִתָּפְשׂ֓וּ ׀
בִּמְזִמּ֖וֹת
ז֣וּ
חָשָֽׁבוּ׃
3. כִּֽי־
הִלֵּ֣ל
רָ֭שָׁע
עַל־
תַּאֲוַ֣ת
נַפְשׁ֑וֹ
וּבֹצֵ֥עַ
בֵּ֝רֵ֗ךְ
נִ֘אֵ֥ץ ׀
יְהוָֽה׃
4. רָשָׁ֗ע
כְּגֹ֣בַהּ
אַ֭פּוֹ
בַּל־
יִדְרֹ֑שׁ
אֵ֥ין
אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים
כָּל־
מְזִמּוֹתָֽיו׃
5. יָ֘חִ֤ילוּ
דרכו
דְרָכָ֨יו ׀
בְּכָל־
עֵ֗ת
מָר֣וֹם
מִ֭שְׁפָּטֶיךָ
מִנֶּגְדּ֑וֹ
כָּל־
צ֝וֹרְרָ֗יו
יָפִ֥יחַ
בָּהֶֽם׃
6. אָמַ֣ר
בְּ֭לִבּוֹ
בַּל־
אֶמּ֑וֹט
לְדֹ֥ר
וָ֝דֹ֗ר
אֲשֶׁ֣ר
לֹֽא־
בְרָֽע׃
7. אָלָ֤ה ׀
פִּ֣יהוּ
מָ֭לֵא
וּמִרְמ֣וֹת
וָתֹ֑ךְ
תַּ֥חַת
לְ֝שׁוֹנ֗וֹ
עָמָ֥ל
וָאָֽוֶן׃
8. יֵשֵׁ֤ב ׀
בְּמַאְרַ֬ב
חֲצֵרִ֗ים
בַּֽ֭מִּסְתָּרִים
יַהֲרֹ֣ג
נָקִ֑י
עֵ֝ינָ֗יו
לְֽחֵלְכָ֥ה
יִצְפֹּֽנוּ׃
9. יֶאֱרֹ֬ב
בַּמִּסְתָּ֨ר ׀
כְּאַרְיֵ֬ה
בְסֻכֹּ֗ה
יֶ֭אֱרֹב
לַחֲט֣וֹף
עָנִ֑י
יַחְטֹ֥ף
עָ֝נִ֗י
בְּמָשְׁכ֥וֹ
בְרִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃
10. ודכה
יִדְכֶּ֥ה
יָשֹׁ֑חַ
וְנָפַ֥ל
בַּ֝עֲצוּמָּ֗יו
חלכאים
חֵ֣יל
כָּאִֽים׃
11. אָמַ֣ר
בְּ֭לִבּוֹ
שָׁ֣כַֽח
אֵ֑ל
הִסְתִּ֥יר
פָּ֝נָ֗יו
בַּל־
רָאָ֥ה
לָנֶֽצַח׃
12. קוּמָ֤ה
יְהוָ֗ה
אֵ֭ל
נְשָׂ֣א
יָדֶ֑ךָ
אַל־
תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח
עניים
עֲנָוִֽים׃
13. עַל־
מֶ֤ה ׀
נִאֵ֖ץ
רָשָׁ֥ע ׀
אֱלֹהִ֑ים
אָמַ֥ר
בְּ֝לִבּ֗וֹ
לֹ֣א
תִדְרֹֽשׁ׃
14. רָאִ֡תָה
כִּֽי־
אַתָּ֤ה ׀
עָ֘מָ֤ל
וָכַ֨עַס ׀
תַּבִּיט֮
לָתֵ֢ת
בְּיָ֫דֶ֥ךָ
עָ֭לֶיךָ
יַעֲזֹ֣ב
חֵלֶ֑כָה
יָ֝ת֗וֹם
אַתָּ֤ה ׀
הָיִ֬יתָ
עוֹזֵֽר׃
15. שְׁ֭בֹר
זְר֣וֹעַ
רָשָׁ֑ע
וָ֝רָ֗ע
תִּֽדְרוֹשׁ־
רִשְׁע֥וֹ
בַל־
תִּמְצָֽא׃
16. יְהוָ֣ה
מֶ֭לֶךְ
עוֹלָ֣ם
וָעֶ֑ד
אָבְד֥וּ
ג֝וֹיִ֗ם
מֵֽאַרְצֽוֹ׃
17. תַּאֲוַ֬ת
עֲנָוִ֣ים
שָׁמַ֣עְתָּ
יְהוָ֑ה
תָּכִ֥ין
לִ֝בָּ֗ם
תַּקְשִׁ֥יב
אָזְנֶֽךָ׃
18. לִשְׁפֹּ֥ט
יָת֗וֹם
וָ֫דָ֥ךְ
בַּל־
יוֹסִ֥יף
ע֑וֹד
לַעֲרֹ֥ץ
אֱ֝נ֗וֹשׁ
מִן־
הָאָֽרֶץ׃
Psalm 86:
Psalm 86
1. תְּפִלָּ֗ה
לְדָ֫וִ֥ד
הַטֵּֽה־
יְהוָ֣ה
אָזְנְךָ֣
עֲנֵ֑נִי
כִּֽי־
עָנִ֖י
וְאֶבְי֣וֹן
אָֽנִי׃
2. שָֽׁמְרָ֣ה
נַפְשִׁי֮
כִּֽי־
חָסִ֢יד
אָ֥נִי
הוֹשַׁ֣ע
עַ֭בְדְּךָ
אַתָּ֣ה
אֱלֹהַ֑י
הַבּוֹטֵ֥חַ
אֵלֶֽיךָ׃
3. חָנֵּ֥נִי
אֲדֹנָ֑י
כִּ֥י
אֵלֶ֥יךָ
אֶ֝קְרָ֗א
כָּל־
הַיּֽוֹם׃
4. שַׂ֭מֵּחַ
נֶ֣פֶשׁ
עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ
כִּ֥י
אֵלֶ֥יךָ
אֲ֝דֹנָ֗י
נַפְשִׁ֥י
אֶשָּֽׂא׃
5. כִּֽי־
אַתָּ֣ה
אֲ֭דֹנָי
ט֣וֹב
וְסַלָּ֑ח
וְרַב־
חֶ֝֗סֶד
לְכָל־
קֹרְאֶֽיךָ׃
6. הַאֲזִ֣ינָה
יְ֭הוָה
תְּפִלָּתִ֑י
וְ֝הַקְשִׁ֗יבָה
בְּק֣וֹל
תַּחֲנוּנוֹתָֽי׃
7. בְּי֣וֹם
צָ֭רָתִ֥י
אֶקְרָאֶ֗ךָּ
כִּ֣י
תַעֲנֵֽנִי׃
8. אֵין־
כָּמ֖וֹךָ
בָאֱלֹהִ֥ים ׀
אֲדֹנָ֗י
וְאֵ֣ין
כְּֽמַעֲשֶֽׂיךָ׃
9. כָּל־
גּוֹיִ֤ם ׀
אֲשֶׁ֥ר
עָשִׂ֗יתָ
יָב֤וֹאוּ ׀
וְיִשְׁתַּחֲו֣וּ
לְפָנֶ֣יךָ
אֲדֹנָ֑י
וִֽיכַבְּד֣וּ
לִשְׁמֶֽךָ׃
10. כִּֽי־
גָד֣וֹל
אַ֭תָּה
וְעֹשֵׂ֣ה
נִפְלָא֑וֹת
אַתָּ֖ה
אֱלֹהִ֣ים
לְבַדֶּֽךָ׃
11. ה֘וֹרֵ֤נִי
יְהוָ֨ה ׀
דַּרְכֶּ֗ךָ
אֲהַלֵּ֥ךְ
בַּאֲמִתֶּ֑ךָ
יַחֵ֥ד
לְ֝בָבִ֗י
לְיִרְאָ֥ה
שְׁמֶֽךָ׃
12. אוֹדְךָ֤ ׀
אֲדֹנָ֣י
אֱ֭לֹהַי
בְּכָל־
לְבָבִ֑י
וַאֲכַבְּדָ֖ה
שִׁמְךָ֣
לְעוֹלָֽם׃
13. כִּֽי־
חַ֭סְדְּךָ
גָּד֣וֹל
עָלָ֑י
וְהִצַּ֥לְתָּ
נַ֝פְשִׁ֗י
מִשְּׁא֥וֹל
תַּחְתִּיָּֽה׃
14. אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀
זֵ֘דִ֤ים
קָֽמוּ־
עָלַ֗י
וַעֲדַ֣ת
עָ֭רִיצִים
בִּקְשׁ֣וּ
נַפְשִׁ֑י
וְלֹ֖א
שָׂמ֣וּךָ
לְנֶגְדָּֽם׃
15. וְאַתָּ֣ה
אֲ֭דֹנָי
אֵל־
רַח֣וּם
וְחַנּ֑וּן
אֶ֥רֶךְ
אַ֝פַּ֗יִם
וְרַב־
חֶ֥סֶד
וֶאֱמֶֽת׃
16. פְּנֵ֥ה
אֵלַ֗י
וְחָ֫נֵּ֥נִי
תְּנָֽה־
עֻזְּךָ֥
לְעַבְדֶּ֑ךָ
וְ֝הוֹשִׁ֗יעָה
לְבֶן־
אֲמָתֶֽךָ׃
17. עֲשֵֽׂה־
עִמִּ֥י
א֗וֹת
לְט֫וֹבָ֥ה
וְיִרְא֣וּ
שֹׂנְאַ֣י
וְיֵבֹ֑שׁוּ
כִּֽי־
אַתָּ֥ה
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
עֲזַרְתַּ֥נִי
וְנִחַמְתָּֽנִי׃