Psalms 94
1 O God, of vengeance, Lord! O God of vengeance, shine forth.
Yahweh, you are able to get revenge [on your enemies]. [So] show them that you are going to punish them!
2 Lift up thyself, O judge of the Earth! bring a recompense upon the proud.
You are the one who judges all [people on] the earth; [so] arise, and give/punish the proud [leaders of our] people like they deserve.
3 How long shall the wicked, O Lord—how long shall the wicked exult?
Yahweh, how long will those wicked [people] be glad/happy? It is not right that [RHQ] they continue being glad!
4 They sputter, they speak hard things: all the workers of wickedness boast themselves.
They do evil things, and they boast about doing them; how long will they [be allowed to] continue doing that?
5 Thy people, O Lord! they crush, and thy heritage they afflict.
Yahweh, [it is as though] those wicked people crush [us], your people; they (oppress/treat cruelly) those who belong to you [DOU].
6 The widow and the stranger they slay, and the fatherless they murder.
They murder widows and orphans and people from other countries who [think it is safe to] live in our land.
7 And they say, The Lord will not see, and the God of Jacob will not take notice of it.
Those wicked people say, “Yahweh does not see anything; [so] the God whom those Israelis [worship] does not see [the evil things that we do].”
8 Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye become intelligent!
You evil people [who rule Israel], you are foolish and stupid; when will you become wise [RHQ]?
9 He that hath planted the ear, shall he not hear? or he that hath formed the eye, shall he not see?
God made our ears; so [do you think that] he cannot hear [what you say] [RHQ]? He created our eyes; so do you think that he cannot see [the evil things that you do] [RHQ]?
10 He that admonisheth nations, shall he not correct? is it not he that teacheth man knowledge!
He also scolds [the leaders of other] nations; so do you think that he will not punish [you] [RHQ]? He is the one who knows everything; [so why do you think that he does not know what you do] [RHQ]?
11 The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are nought.
Yahweh knows [everything] that people are thinking; he knows that what they think ([is useless/vanishes as quickly as]) smoke [MET].
12 Happy is the man whom thou admonisheth, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law:
Yahweh, you are pleased with people who [want you to] discipline/correct them, those who [want you to] teach them your laws.
13 That thou mayest grant him repose from the days of evil, until the pot be dug for the wicked.
When those people have had troubles, you cause those troubles to cease, and some day [it will be as though] you will dig pits for wicked people, and they will fall into those pits [and die].
14 For the Lord will not cast off his people, and his inheritance will he not forsake.
Yahweh will not abandon his people; he will not desert like that those who belong to him [DOU].
15 For unto righteousness will justice return; and it shall be followed by all the upright in heart.
[Some day] judges will decide matters fairly for people, and all honest/righteous people will be pleased about that.
16 Who will rise up for me against evil-doers? or who will stand forward for me against the workers of wickedness?
But when wicked [people] ([oppressed me/treated me cruelly]), (who defended me?/no one defended me.) [RHQ] No one stood up to testify for me against those evil people [RHQ].
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 Yahweh had not helped me [at that time], [I would have been executed], [and] my soul/spirit would have gone to the place where [dead people] say nothing.
18 When I said, My foot hath slipped: thy kindness, O Lord, sustained me.
I said/thought [to myself], “I am about to die,” but Yahweh, you held me up by faithfully loving me.
19 In the multitude of my [painful] thoughts within me, thy consolations delight my soul.
Whenever I am very worried, you comfort/encourage me and cause me to be happy.
20 Can there be associated with thee the throne of destructive wickedness, which frameth mischief as a law?
You have nothing to do with wicked judges, who establish laws that allow people to do what is not legal.
21 They band themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and innocent blood do they condemn.
They plan to get rid of righteous [people], and they declare that (innocent people/people who have not done what is wrong) must be executed.
22 But the Lord is become my defence, and my God, the rock of my refuge.
But Yahweh (has become [like] my fortress/protects me) [MET]; my God is [like a huge] rock under which I am protected/safe [MET].
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 punish those wicked leaders in return for the wicked things that they have done, and will get rid of them for the sins that they have committed; [yes], Yahweh our God will (wipe them out/destroy them completely).
