Psalm 94

¹The Lord is a God who avenges.

O God who avenges, shine forth.

²Rise up, Judge of the earth;

pay back to the proud what they deserve.

³How long, Lord, will the wicked,

how long will the wicked be jubilant?

⁴They pour out arrogant words;

all the evildoers are full of boasting.

⁵They crush your people, Lord;

they oppress your inheritance.

⁶They slay the widow and the foreigner;

they murder the fatherless.

⁷They say, “The Lord does not see;

the God of Jacob takes no notice.”

⁸Take notice, you senseless ones among the people;

you fools, when will you become wise?

⁹Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?

Does he who formed the eye not see?

¹⁰Does he who disciplines nations not punish?

Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?

¹¹The Lord knows all human plans;

he knows that they are futile.

¹²Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord,

the one you teach from your law;

¹³you grant them relief from days of trouble,

till a pit is dug for the wicked.

¹⁴For the Lord will not reject his people;

he will never forsake his inheritance.

¹⁵Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,

and all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶Who will rise up for me against the wicked?

Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?

¹⁷Unless the Lord had given me help,

I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.

¹⁸When I said, “My foot is slipping,”

your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.

¹⁹When anxiety was great within me,

your consolation brought me joy.

²⁰Can a corrupt throne be allied with you—

a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?

²¹The wicked band together against the righteous

and condemn the innocent to death.

²²But the Lord has become my fortress,

and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.

²³He will repay them for their sins

and destroy them for their wickedness;

the Lord our God will destroy them.