Psalm 94

Psalm 94

¹Lord, you are the God who punishes.

Since you are the one who punishes, come and show your anger.

²Judge of the earth, rise up.

Pay back proud people for what they have done.

³Lord, how long will those who are evil be glad?

How long will they be full of joy?

⁴Proud words pour out of their mouths.

All those who do evil are always bragging.

⁵Lord, they crush your people.

They beat down those who belong to you.

⁶They kill outsiders. They kill widows.

They murder children whose fathers have died.

⁷They say, “The Lord doesn’t see what’s happening.

The God of Jacob doesn’t pay any attention to it.”

⁸You who aren’t wise, pay attention.

You foolish people, when will you become wise?

⁹Does he who made the ear not hear?

Does he who formed the eye not see?

¹⁰Does he who corrects nations not punish?

Does he who teaches human beings not know anything?

¹¹The Lord knows what people think.

He knows that their thoughts don’t amount to anything.

¹²Lord, blessed is the man you correct.

Blessed is the person you teach from your law.

¹³You give him rest from times of trouble,

until a pit is dug to trap sinners.

¹⁴The Lord won’t say no to his people.

He will never desert those who belong to him.

¹⁵He will again judge people in keeping with what is right.

All those who have honest hearts will follow the right way.

¹⁶Who will rise up for me against sinful people?

Who will stand up for me against those who do evil?

¹⁷Suppose the Lord had not helped me.

Then I would soon have been lying quietly in the grave.

¹⁸I said, “My foot is slipping.”

But Lord, your love kept me from falling.

¹⁹I was very worried.

But your comfort brought joy to my heart.

²⁰Can you have anything to do with rulers who aren’t fair?

Can those who make laws that cause suffering be friends of yours?

²¹They join together against those who do what is right.

They sentence to death those who aren’t guilty of doing anything wrong.

²²But the Lord has become like a fort to me.

My God is my rock. I go to him for safety.

²³He will pay them back for their sins.

He will destroy them for their evil acts.

The Lord our God will destroy them.