Psalm 94:1-23 - A Prayer For Retribution Against Oppressors

¹ Lord, God of vengeance—
God of vengeance, appear.
² Rise up, Judge of the earth;
repay the proud what they deserve.
³ Lord, how long will the wicked—
how long will the wicked gloat?

⁴ They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.
⁵ Lord, they crush Your people;
they afflict Your heritage.
⁶ They kill the widow and the foreigner
and murder the fatherless.
⁷ They say, “The Lord doesn’t see it.
The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.”

⁸ Pay attention, you stupid people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
⁹ Can the One who shaped the ear not hear,
the One who formed the eye not see?
¹⁰ The One who instructs nations,
the One who teaches man knowledge—
does He not discipline?
¹¹ The Lord knows man’s thoughts;
they are meaningless.

¹² Lord, happy is the man You discipline
and teach from Your law
¹³ to give him relief from troubled times
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
¹⁴ The Lord will not forsake His people
or abandon His heritage,
¹⁵ for justice will again be righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶ Who stands up for me against the wicked?
Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?
¹⁷ If the Lord had not been my helper,
I would soon rest in the silence of death.
¹⁸ If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
Your faithful love will support me, Lord.
¹⁹ When I am filled with cares,
Your comfort brings me joy.

²⁰ Can a corrupt throne—
one that creates trouble by law—
become Your ally?
²¹ They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.
²² But the Lord is my refuge;
my God is the rock of my protection.
²³ He will pay them back for their sins
and destroy them for their evil.
The Lord our God will destroy them.