1The LORD is a God who punishes. Since you are the one who punishes, come and show your anger.2Judge of the earth, rise up. Pay back proud people for what they have done.3LORD, how long will those who are evil be glad? How long will they be full of joy?4Proud words pour out of their mouths. All those who do evil are always boasting.5LORD, they crush your people. They treat badly those who belong to you.6They kill outsiders. They kill widows. They murder children whose fathers have died.7They say, ‘The LORD doesn’t see what’s happening. The God of Jacob doesn’t pay any attention to it.’8You who aren’t wise, pay attention. You foolish people, when will you become wise?9Does he who made the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?10Does he who corrects nations not punish? Does he who teaches human beings not know anything?11The LORD knows what people think. He knows that their thoughts don’t amount to anything.12LORD, blessed is the person you correct. Blessed is the person you teach from your law.13You give them rest from times of trouble, until a pit is dug to trap sinners.14The LORD won’t say no to his people. He will never desert those who belong to him.15He will again judge people in keeping with what is right. All those who have honest hearts will follow the right way.16Who will rise up for me against sinful people? Who will stand up for me against those who do evil?17Suppose the LORD had not helped me. Then I would soon have been lying quietly in the grave.18I said, ‘My foot is slipping.’ But LORD, your faithful love kept me from falling.19I was very worried. But your comfort brought me joy.20Can you have anything to do with rulers who aren’t fair? Can those who make laws that cause suffering be friends of yours?21Evil people join together against those who do what is right. They sentence to death those who aren’t guilty of doing anything wrong.22But the LORD has become like a fort to me. My God is my rock. I go to him for safety.23He will pay them back for their sins. He will destroy them for their evil acts. The LORD our God will destroy them.
Psalm 94
English Standard Version
The Lord Will Not Forsake His People
1O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth! (De 32:35; De 32:41; De 32:43; Ps 50:2; Isa 35:4; Jer 51:56; Na 1:2; Ro 12:19)2Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve! (Ps 7:6; Ps 58:11; Lu 1:51)3O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult? (Job 20:5; Ps 74:10; Re 6:10)4They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast. (1Sa 2:3; Ps 31:18; Ps 92:7; Ps 92:9; Ps 125:5; Jud 1:15)5They crush your people, O Lord, and afflict your heritage. (Pr 22:22; Isa 3:15)6They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless; (Isa 10:2)7and they say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.” (Job 22:13)8Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? (Ps 49:10)9He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? (Ex 4:11; Pr 20:12)10He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge— (Job 12:23; Job 35:11)11the Lord—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.[1] (Ps 30:5; Ps 30:11; 1Co 3:20)12Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, (De 8:5; Job 5:17; Pr 3:11; 1Co 11:32; Heb 12:5)13to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. (Job 34:29; Ps 49:5; Ps 55:23)14For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; (De 32:9; 1Sa 12:22; Ro 11:2)15for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. (1Sa 12:14; 1Ki 14:8; Isa 42:3)16Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? (Ps 12:5)17If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. (Ps 31:17; Ps 124:1)18When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. (Ps 20:2; Ps 38:16; Ps 73:2)19When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.20Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame[2] injustice by statute? (Ps 50:16; Ps 58:2; Isa 10:1; Am 6:3)21They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.[3] (Mt 27:1; Mt 27:4)22But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. (Ps 9:9; Ps 14:6; Ps 18:2)23He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the Lord our God will wipe them out. (Ps 7:16; Ps 34:21; Ps 92:9; Pr 2:22)