Psalm 94

¹O LORD, the God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth! ² Arise, O judge of the earth. Give the proud what they deserve. ³ How long, O LORD? How long will the wicked be allowed to gloat? ⁴ How long will they speak with arrogance? How long will these evil people boast? ⁵ They crush your people, LORD, hurting those you claim as your own. ⁶ They kill widows and foreigners and murder orphans. ⁷ “The LORD isn’t looking,” they say, “and besides, the God of Israel Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 44:4. doesn’t care.”

⁸Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on? ⁹ Is he deaf—the one who made your ears? Is he blind—the one who formed your eyes? ¹⁰ He punishes the nations—won’t he also punish you? He knows everything—doesn’t he also know what you are doing? ¹¹ The LORD knows people’s thoughts; he knows they are worthless!

¹²Joyful are those you discipline, LORD, those you teach with your instructions. ¹³ You give them relief from troubled times until a pit is dug to capture the wicked. ¹⁴ The LORD will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession. ¹⁵ Judgment will again be founded on justice, and those with virtuous hearts will pursue it.

¹⁶Who will protect me from the wicked? Who will stand up for me against evildoers? ¹⁷ Unless the LORD had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave. ¹⁸ I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me. ¹⁹ When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

²⁰Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side— leaders whose decrees permit injustice? ²¹ They gang up against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. ²² But the LORD is my fortress; my God is the mighty rock where I hide. ²³ God will turn the sins of evil people back on them. He will destroy them for their sins. The LORD our God will destroy them.