Psalms 94
1 O God, of vengeance, Lord! O God of vengeance, shine forth.
The Lord is a God of vengeance! God of vengeance, shine out!
2 Lift up thyself, O judge of the Earth! bring a recompense upon the proud.
Stand up, judge of the earth, and pay back those who are proud what they deserve.
3 How long shall the wicked, O Lord—how long shall the wicked exult?
How long, Lord? How long will the wicked celebrate in triumph?
4 They sputter, they speak hard things: all the workers of wickedness boast themselves.
How long will you let them pour out their arrogant words? How long will these evil people go on boasting?
5 Thy people, O Lord! they crush, and thy heritage they afflict.
Lord, they crush your people; they oppress those you call your own.
6 The widow and the stranger they slay, and the fatherless they murder.
They kill widows and foreigners; they murder orphans.
7 And they say, The Lord will not see, and the God of Jacob will not take notice of it.
They say, “The Lord can't see what we're doing. Israel's God doesn't pay any attention to us.”
8 Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye become intelligent!
Take another look, you stupid people! Fools—when will you ever get the point?
9 He that hath planted the ear, shall he not hear? or he that hath formed the eye, shall he not see?
Do you think the creator of the ear can't hear? Do you think the maker of the eye can't see?
10 He that admonisheth nations, shall he not correct? is it not he that teacheth man knowledge!
Do you think that the one who punishes nations won't punish you too? Do you think that the one who teaches human beings knowledge doesn't know anything?
11 The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are nought.
The Lord knows the thoughts of human beings—he knows they are pointless.
12 Happy is the man whom thou admonisheth, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law:
Those you discipline are happy, Lord; those you teach from your Law.
13 That thou mayest grant him repose from the days of evil, until the pot be dug for the wicked.
You give them peace in days of trouble, until a pit is dug to trap the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not cast off his people, and his inheritance will he not forsake.
For the Lord will not give up on his people; he will not abandon his own.
15 For unto righteousness will justice return; and it shall be followed by all the upright in heart.
Justice will once again be based on what is right; those who are sincere will support it.
16 Who will rise up for me against evil-doers? or who will stand forward for me against the workers of wickedness?
Who came to my defense against the wicked; who stood up for me against those who do evil?
17 Unless the Lord had been a help unto me, but a little would have been wanting that my soul had dwelt in the silence of death.
If the Lord hadn't helped me, I would have soon gone down into the silence of the grave.
18 When I said, My foot hath slipped: thy kindness, O Lord, sustained me.
I shouted out, “My foot's slipping!” and your trustworthy love, Lord, kept me from falling.
19 In the multitude of my [painful] thoughts within me, thy consolations delight my soul.
When my mind was full of worries, you comforted me and encouraged me.
20 Can there be associated with thee the throne of destructive wickedness, which frameth mischief as a law?
Can unjust judges really be on your side, Lord, when their corrupt use of the law causes misery?
21 They band themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and innocent blood do they condemn.
They work together to destroy good people; they condemn those who are innocent to death.
22 But the Lord is become my defence, and my God, the rock of my refuge.
But the Lord protects me like a fortress; my God is the rock that keeps me safe.
23 And he will bring back upon them their own injustice, and in their own wickedness will he destroy them: [yea], he will destroy them—the Lord our God.
He will turn the wickedness of evil people back upon them; he will destroy them because of their sins; the Lord our God will destroy them.
