Psalm 94

Common English Bible

Psalm 94

94 Lord, avenging God—
    avenging God, show yourself!
²Rise up, judge of the earth!
    Pay back the arrogant exactly what they deserve!
³How long will the wicked—oh, Lord!—
    how long will the wicked win?
⁴They spew arrogant words;
    all the evildoers are bragging.
⁵They crush your own people, Lord!
    They abuse your very own possession.
⁶They kill widows and immigrants;
    they murder orphans,
⁷    saying all the while,
    “The Lord can’t see it;
        Jacob’s God doesn’t know
        what’s going on!”

⁸You ignorant people better learn quickly.
    You fools—when will you get some sense?
⁹The one who made the ear,
    can’t he hear?
The one who formed the eye,
    can’t he see?
¹⁰The one who disciplines nations,
    can’t he punish?
The one who teaches humans,
    doesn’t he know?^[a]
¹¹The Lord does indeed know human thoughts,
    knows that they are nothing but a puff of air.

¹²The people you discipline, Lord, are truly happy—
    the ones you teach from your Instruction—
¹³    giving them relief from troubling times
        until a pit is dug for the wicked.
¹⁴The Lord will not reject his people;
    he will not abandon his very own possession.
¹⁵No, but justice will once again meet up with righteousness,
    and all whose heart is right will follow after.

¹⁶Who will stand up for me against the wicked?
    Who will help me against evildoers?
¹⁷If the Lord hadn’t helped me,
    I^[b] would live instantly in total silence.
¹⁸Whenever I feel my foot slipping,
    your faithful love steadies me, Lord.
¹⁹When my anxieties multiply,
    your comforting calms me down.

²⁰Can a wicked ruler be your ally;
    one who wreaks havoc by means of the law?
²¹The wicked gang up against the lives of the righteous.
    They condemn innocent blood.
²²But the Lord is my fortress;
    my God is my rock of refuge.
²³He will repay them for their wickedness,
    completely destroy them because of their evil.
    Yes, the Lord our God will completely destroy them.

Footnotes

Psalm 94:10 Correction; MT the one who teaches humans knowledge
Psalm 94:17 Or soul; also in 94:19, 21

Psalm 95

Common English Bible

Psalm 95

95 Come, let’s sing out loud to the Lord!
    Let’s raise a joyful shout to the rock of our salvation!
²Let’s come before him with thanks!
    Let’s shout songs of joy to him!
³The Lord is a great God,
    the great king over all other gods.
⁴The earth’s depths are in his hands;
    the mountain heights belong to him;
⁵    the sea, which he made, is his
        along with the dry ground,
        which his own hands formed.

⁶Come, let’s worship and bow down!
    Let’s kneel before the Lord, our maker!
⁷He is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    the sheep in his hands.

If only you would listen to his voice right now!
⁸    “Don’t harden your hearts
    like you did at Meribah,
    like you did when you were at Massah,
        in the wilderness,
⁹    when your ancestors tested me
        and scrutinized me,
    even though they had already seen my acts.
¹⁰For forty years I despised that generation;
    I said, ‘These people have twisted hearts.
    They don’t know my ways.’
¹¹So in anger I swore:
    ‘They will never enter my place of rest!’”