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94 Yahweh, you God to whom vengeance belongs,
    you God to whom vengeance belongs, shine out.
Rise up, you judge of the earth.
    Pay back the proud what they deserve.
Yahweh, how long will the wicked,
    how long will the wicked triumph?
They pour out arrogant words.
    All the evildoers boast.
They break your people in pieces, Yahweh,
    and afflict your heritage.
They kill the widow and the alien,
    and murder the fatherless.
They say, “Yah will not see,
    neither will Jacob’s God consider.”
Consider, you senseless among the people;
    you fools, when will you be wise?
He who implanted the ear, won’t he hear?
    He who formed the eye, won’t he see?
10 He who disciplines the nations, won’t he punish?
    He who teaches man knows.
11 Yahweh knows the thoughts of man,
    that they are futile.
12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, Yah,
    and teach out of your law,
13 that you may give him rest from the days of adversity,
    until the pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For Yahweh won’t reject his people,
    neither will he forsake his inheritance.
15 For judgment will return to righteousness.
    All the upright in heart shall follow it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
    Who will stand up for me against the evildoers?
17 Unless Yahweh had been my help,
    my soul would have soon lived in silence.
18 When I said, “My foot is slipping!”
    Your loving kindness, Yahweh, held me up.
19 In the multitude of my thoughts within me,
    your comforts delight my soul.
20 Shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with you,
    which brings about mischief by statute?
21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous,
    and condemn the innocent blood.
22 But Yahweh has been my high tower,
    my God, the rock of my refuge.
23 He has brought on them their own iniquity,
    and will cut them off in their own wickedness.
    Yahweh, our God, will cut them off.

God Avenges His Own

94 God of vengeance,
    Lord God of vengeance,
        display your splendor![a]
Stand up, judge of the earth,
    and repay the proud.

How long will the wicked, Lord,
    how long will the wicked continue to triumph?
When they speak, they spew arrogance.
    Everyone who practices iniquity brags about it.[b]

Lord, they have crushed your people,
    afflicting your heritage.
The wicked[c] kill widows and foreigners;
    they murder orphans.
They say, “The Lord cannot see,
    and the God of Jacob will not notice.”

Pay attention, you dull ones among the crowds!
    You fools! Will you ever become wise?
The one who formed[d] the ear can hear, can he not?
    The one who made the eyes can see, can he not?
10 The one who disciplines nations can rebuke them, can he not?
    The one who teaches mankind can discern, can he not?
11 The Lord knows the thoughts of human beings—
    that they are futile.

12 How blessed is the man whom you instruct, Lord,
    whom you teach from your Law,
13 keeping him calm when times are troubled
    until a pit has been dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not forsake his people;
    he will not abandon his heritage.
15 Righteousness will be restored with justice,
    and all the pure of heart will follow it.

16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
    Who will stand for me against those who practice iniquity?
17 If the Lord had not been my helper,
    I would have quickly become silent.
18 When I say that my foot is shaking,
    your gracious love, Lord, will sustain me.
19 When my anxious inner thoughts become overwhelming,
    your comfort encourages me.

20 Will destructive national leaders,[e]
    who plan wicked things through misuse of the Law,
        be allied with you?
21 They gather together against the righteous,
    condemning the innocent to death.

22 But the Lord is my stronghold,
    and my God, the rock, is my refuge.
23 He will repay them for their sin;
    he will annihilate them because of their evil.
        The Lord our God will annihilate them.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 94:1 The Heb. lacks your splendor
  2. Psalm 94:4 The Heb. lacks about it
  3. Psalm 94:6 Lit. They
  4. Psalm 94:9 Lit. planted
  5. Psalm 94:20 Lit. destructive throne