Psalm 94

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.

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Footnotes

Psalm 94:11 Septuagint they are futile
Psalm 94:20 Or fashion
Psalm 94:21 Hebrew condemn innocent blood

Proverbs 3:11-12

English Standard Version

¹¹^(A)My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
¹²for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
as ^(B)a father the son in whom he delights.

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Hebrews 12:5-15

English Standard Version

⁵And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

^(A)“My son, ^(B)do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
⁶For ^(C)the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”

⁷It is for discipline that you have to endure. ^(D)God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸If you are left without discipline, ^(E)in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to ^(F)the Father of spirits ^(G)and live? ¹⁰For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, ^(H)that we may share his holiness. ¹¹^(I)For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields ^(J)the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹²Therefore ^(K)lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ¹³and ^(L)make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint ^(M)but rather be healed. ¹⁴^(N)Strive for peace with everyone, and for the ^(O)holiness ^(P)without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵See to it that no one ^(Q)fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ^(R)“root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;