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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

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

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

12 The 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.
14 The Lord will not reject his people;
    he will not abandon his very own possession.
15 No, but justice will once again meet up with righteousness,
    and all whose heart is right will follow after.

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

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

Footnotes

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