Psalm 94-98

English Standard Version

The Lord Will Not Forsake His People

94 O Lord, God of ^(A)vengeance,
    O God of vengeance, ^(B)shine forth!
²^(C)Rise up, O ^(D)judge of the earth;
    repay to the ^(E)proud what they deserve!
³O Lord, ^(F)how long shall the wicked,
    how long shall ^(G)the wicked exult?
⁴They pour out their ^(H)arrogant words;
    all ^(I)the evildoers boast.
⁵They ^(J)crush your people, O Lord,
    and afflict your heritage.
⁶They kill ^(K)the widow and the sojourner,
    and murder ^(L)the fatherless;
⁷^(M)and they say, “The Lord does not see;
    the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

⁸^(N)Understand, O dullest of the people!
    Fools, when will you be wise?
⁹^(O)He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
¹⁰He who ^(P)disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who ^(Q)teaches man knowledge—
¹¹    ^(R)the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
    that they are ^(S)but a breath.^[a]

¹²^(T)Blessed is the man whom you ^(U)discipline, O Lord,
    and whom you teach out of your law,
¹³to give him ^(V)rest from ^(W)days of trouble,
    until ^(X)a pit is dug for the wicked.
¹⁴^(Y)For the Lord will not forsake his ^(Z)people;
    he will not abandon his ^(AA)heritage;
¹⁵for ^(AB)justice will return to the righteous,
    and all the upright in heart will ^(AC)follow it.

¹⁶^(AD)Who rises up for me against the wicked?
    Who stands up for me against evildoers?
¹⁷^(AE)If the Lord had not been my help,
    my soul would soon have lived in the land of ^(AF)silence.
¹⁸When I thought, ^(AG)“My foot slips,”
    your steadfast love, O Lord, ^(AH)held me up.
¹⁹When the cares of my heart are many,
    your consolations cheer my soul.
²⁰Can ^(AI)wicked rulers be allied with you,
    those who frame^[b] injustice by ^(AJ)statute?
²¹They ^(AK)band together against the life of the righteous
    and condemn ^(AL)the innocent to death.^[c]
²²But the Lord has become my ^(AM)stronghold,
    and my God ^(AN)the rock of my ^(AO)refuge.
²³He will bring back on them ^(AP)their iniquity
    and ^(AQ)wipe them out for their wickedness;
    the Lord our God will wipe them out.

Let Us Sing Songs of Praise

95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us ^(AR)make a joyful noise to ^(AS)the rock of our salvation!
²Let us ^(AT)come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us ^(AU)make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
³For the Lord is ^(AV)a great God,
    and a great King ^(AW)above all gods.
⁴In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
⁵The sea is his, for ^(AX)he made it,
    and his hands formed ^(AY)the dry land.

⁶Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us ^(AZ)kneel before the Lord, our ^(BA)Maker!
⁷For he is our ^(BB)God,
    and we are the people of his ^(BC)pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.
^(BD)Today, if you ^(BE)hear his voice,
⁸    ^(BF)do not harden your hearts, as at ^(BG)Meribah,
    as on the day at ^(BH)Massah in the wilderness,
⁹when your fathers put me to the ^(BI)test
    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my ^(BJ)work.
¹⁰^(BK)For forty years I loathed that generation
    and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
    and they have not known ^(BL)my ways.”
¹¹Therefore I ^(BM)swore in my wrath,
    “They shall not enter ^(BN)my rest.”

Worship in the Splendor of Holiness

96 ^(BO)Oh sing to the Lord ^(BP)a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth!
²Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    ^(BQ)tell of his salvation from day to day.
³Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples!
⁴For ^(BR)great is the Lord, and ^(BS)greatly to be praised;
    he is to be feared above ^(BT)all gods.
⁵For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
    but the Lord ^(BU)made the heavens.
⁶Splendor and majesty are before him;
    ^(BV)strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

⁷Ascribe to the Lord, O ^(BW)families of the peoples,
    ^(BX)ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
⁸Ascribe to the Lord ^(BY)the glory due his name;
    bring ^(BZ)an offering, and ^(CA)come into his courts!
⁹Worship the Lord in ^(CB)the splendor of holiness;^[d]
    ^(CC)tremble before him, all the earth!

¹⁰Say among the nations, ^(CD)“The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will ^(CE)judge the peoples with equity.”

¹¹Let ^(CF)the heavens be glad, and let ^(CG)the earth rejoice;
    let ^(CH)the sea roar, and all that fills it;
¹²    let ^(CI)the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all ^(CJ)the trees of the forest sing for joy
¹³    before the Lord, for he comes,
    for he comes ^(CK)to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

The Lord Reigns

97 ^(CL)The Lord reigns, ^(CM)let the earth rejoice;
    let the many ^(CN)coastlands be glad!
²^(CO)Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
    ^(CP)righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
³^(CQ)Fire goes before him
    and burns up his adversaries all around.
⁴His ^(CR)lightnings light up the world;
    the earth sees and ^(CS)trembles.
⁵The mountains ^(CT)melt like ^(CU)wax before the Lord,
    before ^(CV)the Lord of all the earth.

⁶^(CW)The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
    and all ^(CX)the peoples see his glory.
⁷All worshipers of images are ^(CY)put to shame,
    who make their boast in ^(CZ)worthless idols;
    ^(DA)worship him, all you gods!

⁸Zion hears and ^(DB)is glad,
    and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
    because of your judgments, O Lord.
⁹For you, O Lord, are ^(DC)most high over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above ^(DD)all gods.

¹⁰O you who love the Lord, ^(DE)hate evil!
    He ^(DF)preserves the lives of his ^(DG)saints;
    he ^(DH)delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
¹¹^(DI)Light ^(DJ)is sown^[e] for the righteous,
    and joy for the upright in heart.
¹²^(DK)Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
    and ^(DL)give thanks to his holy name!

Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord

A Psalm.

98 Oh sing to the Lord ^(DM)a new song,
    for he has done ^(DN)marvelous things!
His ^(DO)right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
²The Lord has ^(DP)made known his salvation;
    he has ^(DQ)revealed his righteousness in ^(DR)the sight of the nations.
³He has ^(DS)remembered his ^(DT)steadfast love and faithfulness
    to the house of Israel.
All ^(DU)the ends of the earth have seen
    ^(DV)the salvation of our God.

⁴^(DW)Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
    ^(DX)break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
⁵Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
    with the lyre and the ^(DY)sound of melody!
⁶With ^(DZ)trumpets and the sound of ^(EA)the horn
    ^(EB)make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!

⁷^(EC)Let the sea roar, and ^(ED)all that fills it;
    ^(EE)the world and those who dwell in it!
⁸Let the rivers ^(EF)clap their hands;
    let ^(EG)the hills sing for joy together
⁹before the Lord, for he comes
    to ^(EH)judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
    and the peoples with equity.

Footnotes

Psalm 94:11 Septuagint they are futile
Psalm 94:20 Or fashion
Psalm 94:21 Hebrew condemn innocent blood
Psalm 96:9 Or in holy attire
Psalm 97:11 Most Hebrew manuscripts; one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome Light dawns