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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.

Psalm 94

God the Avenger of the Righteous

O Lord, you God of vengeance,
    you God of vengeance, shine forth!(A)
Rise up, O judge of the earth;
    give to the proud what they deserve!(B)
O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
    how long shall the wicked exult?(C)

They pour out their arrogant words;
    all the evildoers boast.(D)
They crush your people, O Lord,
    and afflict your heritage.
They kill the widow and the stranger;
    they murder the orphan,
and they say, “The Lord does not see;
    the God of Jacob does not perceive.”(E)

Understand, O dullest of the people;
    fools, when will you be wise?(F)
He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?(G)
10 He who disciplines the nations,
he who teaches knowledge to humankind,
    does he not chastise?(H)
11 The Lord knows our thoughts,[a]
    that they are but an empty breath.(I)

12 Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord,
    and whom you teach out of your law,(J)
13 giving them respite from days of trouble,
    until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not forsake his people;
    he will not abandon his heritage;(K)
15 for justice will return to the righteous,
    and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who rises up for me against the wicked?
    Who stands up for me against evildoers?(L)
17 If the Lord had not been my help,
    my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.(M)
18 When I thought, “My foot is slipping,”
    your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.(N)
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
    your consolations cheer my soul.(O)
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
    those who contrive mischief by statute?(P)
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
    and condemn the innocent to death.(Q)
22 But the Lord has become my stronghold
    and my God the rock of my refuge.(R)
23 He will repay them for their iniquity
    and wipe them out for their wickedness;
    the Lord our God will wipe them out.(S)

Footnotes

  1. 94.11 Heb the thoughts of humankind