Bible Strands
Psalms 10:15
Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call him to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, pleading for intervention against the wicked who oppress the vulnerable, immediately after noting God’s attention to human grief and before declaring God’s eternal kingship.
The words — שְׁבֹר (Shevor) means to break or shatter, and תִּדְרוֹשׁ (tidrosh) means you will seek or search.
The thread — The broken arm motif appears in Job 38:15 and Psalms 37:17, while the searching imagery parallels Zephaniah 1:12’s description of God searching Jerusalem with lamps.
Why it lands — It demands a reader to trust that divine justice actively dismantles oppressive power and leaves no room for unaddressed evil.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
Cross-references
- Job 38:15 Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken.
- Psalms 37:17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
- Zephaniah 1:12 And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men settled in complacency, who say to themselves, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’
- Psalms 7:9 Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.
- Ezekiel 30:21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. See, it has not been bound up for healing, or splinted for strength to hold the sword.
- Jeremiah 2:34 Moreover, your skirts are stained with the blood of the innocent poor, though you did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things
- Zechariah 11:17 Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!”
- Psalms 3:7 Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
- Ezekiel 23:48 So I will put an end to indecency in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your behavior.
- 2 Kings 21:12 this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah that the news will reverberate in the ears of all who hear it.