Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 94
The Just Judge
1 Lord, God of vengeance—
God of vengeance, appear.(A)
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth;
repay the proud what they deserve.(B)
3 Lord, how long will the wicked—
how long will the wicked gloat?(C)
4 They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.(D)
5 Lord, they crush Your people;
they afflict Your heritage.(E)
6 They kill the widow and the foreigner
and murder the fatherless.(F)
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see it.
The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.”(G)
8 Pay attention, you stupid people!
Fools, when will you be wise?(H)
9 Can the One who shaped the ear not hear,
the One who formed the eye not see?(I)
10 The One who instructs nations,
the One who teaches man knowledge—
does He not discipline?(J)
11 The Lord knows man’s thoughts;
they are meaningless.(K)
12 Lord, happy is the man You discipline
and teach from Your law(L)
13 to give him relief from troubled times
until a pit is dug for the wicked.(M)
14 The Lord will not forsake His people
or abandon His heritage,(N)
15 for justice will again be righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow[a] it.(O)
16 Who stands up for me against the wicked?
Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?(P)
17 If the Lord had not been my helper,
I would soon rest in the silence of death.(Q)
18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
Your faithful love will support me, Lord.(R)
19 When I am filled with cares,
Your comfort brings me joy.(S)
20 Can a corrupt throne—
one that creates trouble by law—
become Your ally?(T)
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.(U)
22 But the Lord is my refuge;
my God is the rock of my protection.(V)
23 He will pay them back for their sins
and destroy them for their evil.
The Lord our God will destroy them.(W)
18 “But even in those days”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will not finish you off.(A) 19 When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ You will respond to them: Just as you abandoned Me(B) and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.(C)
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying:
21 Hear this,
you foolish and senseless[a] people.(D)
They have eyes, but they don’t see.
They have ears, but they don’t hear.(E)
22 Do you not fear Me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Do you not tremble before Me,
the One who set the sand as the boundary of the sea,
an enduring barrier that it cannot cross?(F)
The waves surge, but they cannot prevail.
They roar but cannot pass over it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.(G)
They have turned aside and have gone away.
24 They have not said to themselves,
‘Let’s fear the Lord our God,(H)
who gives the rain,(I) both early and late,(J) in its season,(K)
who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’
25 Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.
Your sins have withheld My bounty from you,(L)
26 for wicked men live among My people.
They watch like fowlers lying in wait.[b](M)
They set a trap;(N)
they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are full of deceit.(O)
Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.
28 They have become fat(P) and sleek.
They have also excelled in evil matters.
They have not taken up cases,
such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,
and they have not defended the rights of the needy.(Q)
29 Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself(R)
on such a nation as this?
8 Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.(A) 9 The Lord does not delay His promise,(B) as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any(C) to perish(D) but all to come to repentance.(E)
10 But the Day of the Lord(F) will come like a thief;[a](G) on that day the heavens will pass away(H) with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved,(I) and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.[b] 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness 12 as you wait for and earnestly desire the coming[c] of the day of God.(J) The heavens will be on fire and be dissolved because of it, and the elements will melt with the heat. 13 But based on His promise, we wait for the new heavens and a new earth,(K) where righteousness will dwell.(L)
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