Psalm 17:10

Psalm 17:10, in plain English

These enemies are cruel and callous—they've hardened their hearts against compassion and speak arrogantly about their power and plans.

Why it's here

The psalmist is describing the character of his attackers to help us understand the stakes. These aren't reasonable people he can negotiate with; they're hardhearted and boastful, full of themselves.

Who's speaking

The psalmist, characterizing his enemies in a way that shows why mercy won't work and why God's intervention is necessary.

Where it sits in the story

Throughout Scripture, hard-heartedness is presented as the real problem—whether it's Pharaoh refusing to let Israel go or the religious leaders rejecting Jesus. The issue isn't just external threat; it's spiritual rebellion against God.

The scholarly reading

The psalmist describes his enemies' spiritual and moral corruption: their hearts are hardened and their speech is arrogant.

Language and setting

The Hebrew סָּגַר (sagar—closed/shut) suggests deliberate moral closure, a hardening of the heart against instruction. The word דִּשְׁנָם (dishnam) literally means 'their fat' or 'their prosperity,' but here refers to the spiritual complacency that comes from material success—they are morally flabby precisely because they are materially secure. This diagnosis of the wicked is not personal attack but spiritual assessment: their arrogance is symptomatic of their separation from God.

Voice

The petitioner, now characterizing his enemies' spiritual condition and the source of their hostility.

Significance

This reflects the Wisdom Literature's consistent pattern of analyzing wickedness as rooted in spiritual blindness and pride—a diagnosis that develops throughout Scripture and reaches its fullest expression in Jesus's teaching about the hardened heart (Mark 3:5, John 9:40-41).

8Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings

9from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.

10They have closed their callous hearts; their mouths speak with arrogance.

11They have tracked us down, and now surround us; their eyes are set to cast us to the ground,

12like a lion greedy for prey, like a young lion lurking in ambush.

Read all of Psalm 17 — A prayer for protection so intimate it borrows the language of a parent shielding a child. Hide me in the shadow of Your wings.