Psalm 94

God the Avenger of the Righteous

 

94 O Lord, thou God of vengeance,

thou God of vengeance, shine forth!

2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;

render to the proud their deserts!

3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked,

how long shall the wicked exult?

 

4 They pour out their arrogant words,

they boast, all the evildoers.

5 They crush thy people, O Lord,

and afflict thy heritage.

6 They slay the widow and the sojourner,

and murder the fatherless;

7 and they say, “The Lord does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

 

8 Understand, O dullest of the people!

Fools, when will you be wise?

9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

10 He who chastens the nations, does he not chastise?

He who teaches men knowledge,

11 the Lord, knows the thoughts of man,

that they are but a breath.

 

12 Blessed is the man whom thou dost chasten, O Lord,

and whom thou dost teach out of thy law

13 to give him 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;

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?

17 If the Lord had not been my help,

my soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.

18 When I thought, “My foot slips,”

thy steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

19 When the cares of my heart are many,

thy consolations cheer my soul.

20 Can wicked rulers be allied with thee,

who frame mischief by statute?

21 They band together against the life of the righteous,

and condemn the innocent to death.

22 But the Lord has become my stronghold,

and my God the rock of my refuge.

23 He will bring back on them their iniquity

and wipe them out for their wickedness;

the Lord our God will wipe them out.