Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 94[a]
God, Judge, and Avenger
1 O Lord, you are an avenging God;[b]
shine forth, O God of vengeance.
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
repay[c] the arrogant as they deserve.
3 O Lord, how long will the wicked,
how long will the wicked be triumphant?[d]
4 [e]Their mouths pour forth their arrogant words
as these evildoers never cease to boast.
5 They crush your people, O Lord,
and they oppress your heritage.
6 They slay the widow and the foreigner
and put the orphan to death.
7 They say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob[f] pays no attention.”
8 [g]Try to comprehend, you senseless people.
You fools, when will you gain some wisdom?[h]
9 Does the one who made the ear not hear?
Does the one who fashioned the eye not see?[i]
10 Does the one who guides the nations[j] not punish?
Does the one who instructs people lack knowledge?
11 The Lord is well aware of our thoughts[k]
and how foolish they are.
12 [l]Blessed[m] is the man you admonish, O Lord,
the man you teach by means of your law,
13 giving him respite in times of misfortune
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not abandon his people
or forsake his heritage.[n]
15 Judgment will again be based on righteousness,
and all the upright in heart[o] will uphold it.
16 [p]Who will stand up for me against the wicked?
Who will defend me against evildoers?
17 If the Lord had not come to my aid,
I would long ago have been consigned to the kingdom of silence.[q]
18 When I realized that my foot was slipping,
your kindness,[r] O Lord, raised me up.
19 When my anxious thoughts multiplied,
your comfort filled my soul with joy.[s]
20 [t]Can evil rulers have you as an ally,
those who make use of the law to oppress the helpless?[u]
21 They conspire against the righteous[v]
and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has been my stronghold,[w]
my God, the rock in whom I find refuge.
23 He will repay the wicked for their iniquity
and destroy them for their evil deeds;
the Lord, our God, will destroy them.
18 [a]Yet even in those days, declares the Lord, I will not completely destroy you. 19 And when the people ask, “Why has the Lord, our God, done all this to us?” reply to them, “As you have forsaken the Lord and served alien gods in your own land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.”
20 Announce this in the house of Jacob,
proclaim it in Judah:
21 Pay attention to this,
you foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear.
22 Do you have no fear of me? asks the Lord.
Do you not tremble before me?
I was the one who established the sand
as the boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it can never pass.
Its waves may rise up but cannot prevail;
they may roar but cannot cross the limits.
23 But this people has a rebellious and stubborn heart;
they have risen up in defiance and gone away.
24 Nor do they say to themselves,
“Let us fear the Lord, our God,
who gives us in their proper season
the autumn and spring rains
and unfailingly provides for us
the weeks designated for the harvest.”
25 Your iniquities have upset the order of nature,
and your sins have deprived you of its bounty.
26 For there are wicked scoundrels among my people
who, like fowlers, set traps,
but with men as their quarry.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of treachery.
As a result, they have grown rich and powerful,
28 well fed and well groomed.
Their wickedness knows no bounds,
and they do not practice justice in their dealings.
They do not uphold the rights of the orphan
or defend the cause of the needy.
29 How can I fail to punish such things?
says the Lord.
How can I refuse to exact vengeance on a nation such as this?
30 An appalling and outrageous situation
has occurred in the land.
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
the priests are in league with them,
and the people are delighted with this situation.
But when the end comes, what will you do?
8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved: with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9 The Lord does not delay in keeping his promise, as some think in terms of delay, but he is patient with you. It is not his wish that any should perish but rather that all should be brought to repentance.
10 However, the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a mighty roar,[a] and the elements will be dissolved in flames, and the earth and all that it contains will be disclosed.
11 Wait for and Speed the Day of God.[b] Since everything is to be destroyed in this way, consider what sort of people you ought to be, living holy and saintly lives. 12 Wait for and speed the coming of the Day of God,[c] on which the heavens will be set ablaze and all the elements will melt because of the intense heat. 13 We eagerly await the promised new heavens and a new earth[d] in which righteousness dwells.
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