Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament
Psalms 94
Psalm 94: a call for the God of vengeance against those who murder the fatherless
General context
The speaker calls on the Lord God to whom vengeance belongs to shew himself, to lift himself up as judge of the earth and render a reward to the proud. He asks how long the wicked shall triumph, speak hard things and boast. They break God's people in pieces, afflict his heritage, slay the widow and the stranger and murder the fatherless, and they say the Lord shall not see and the God of Jacob will not regard it. The speaker tells the brutish and the fools to understand: he that planted the ear shall hear, he that formed the eye shall see, he that chastises the heathen shall correct, and the Lord knows that the thoughts of man are vanity. Blessed is the man whom the Lord chastens and teaches out of his law, to give him rest until the pit is digged for the wicked; the Lord will not cast off his people, and judgment shall return unto righteousness. The speaker asks who will rise up for him against the evildoers, and answers that unless the Lord had been his help his soul had almost dwelt in silence; when he said his foot slipped, God's mercy held him up, and God's comforts delight his soul. He asks whether the throne of iniquity, which frames mischief by a law, shall have fellowship with God; they gather against the righteous and condemn innocent blood. But the Lord is his defence and the rock of his refuge, and shall bring their own iniquity upon them and cut them off.
Cited passages: Psalms 94:1, Psalms 94:2, Psalms 94:3, Psalms 94:5, Psalms 94:6, Psalms 94:7, Psalms 94:8, Psalms 94:9, Psalms 94:11, Psalms 94:12, Psalms 94:13, Psalms 94:14, Psalms 94:15, Psalms 94:16, Psalms 94:17, Psalms 94:18, Psalms 94:19, Psalms 94:20, Psalms 94:21, Psalms 94:22, Psalms 94:23
Psalms 94 (KJV)
1O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
2Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.
3Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?
4How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?
5They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage.
6They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
7Yet they say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.
8Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
9He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
10He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?
11The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
12Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law;
13That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
14For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.
15But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.
16Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
17Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
18When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.
19In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.
20Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
21They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
22But the Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
23And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off.
This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.
Historical context
This source prints no superscription; the psalm begins with O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth. The speaker addresses God, then the brutish among the people, then speaks of himself in the first person from verse 16, and says our God in the last verse. The wicked are described by what they do and say: they break in pieces thy people, slay the widow and the stranger, murder the fatherless, condemn the innocent blood, and claim The Lord shall not see. They are not named, and no nation or event is given. Verse 20 speaks of a throne of iniquity which frameth mischief by a law, the only hint that the wrong is done through an office and a law, but the text does not identify it. The speaker's own danger is stated as a foot that slipped and a soul near silence, without detail. God is called God of Jacob, judge of the earth, and rock of my refuge. There is no Selah.
Cited passages: Psalms 94:8, Psalms 94:16, Psalms 94:23, Psalms 94:6, Psalms 94:7, Psalms 94:20, Psalms 94:18, Psalms 94:2, Psalms 94:22
Literary context
The psalm is driven by questions. How long is asked three times in verses 3 and 4, and the wicked's own claim that God will not see is answered by four questions in verses 9 and 10 that turn on the maker of the ear and the eye. The address moves from God to the fools and back, and from the plural thy people to the single my foot and my soul. A blessing in verse 12 stands between the accusation and the testimony, and it treats chastening as a gift that gives rest. The speaker's question, who will rise up for me, is answered by his own memory of being held up. The close matches the opening: vengeance is asked for at the start, and at the end the wicked's own iniquity is brought upon them, with cut them off said twice.
Cited passages: Psalms 94:3, Psalms 94:4, Psalms 94:10, Psalms 94:12, Psalms 94:13, Psalms 94:17, Psalms 94:23, Psalms 94:1
Key moments
- God of vengeance, shew thyself (Psalms 94:1). The speaker calls on the God to whom vengeance belongs to appear.
- Widow, stranger, fatherless (Psalms 94:6). The wicked are said to slay the widow and stranger and murder the fatherless.
- He that planted the ear (Psalms 94:9). The fools are asked whether the maker of the ear and eye cannot hear and see.
- Blessed whom thou chastenest (Psalms 94:12). The man God chastens and teaches is called blessed.
- My foot slippeth (Psalms 94:18). The speaker recalls God's mercy holding him up when he said his foot slipped.
- Cut off in their wickedness (Psalms 94:23). The psalm ends with the Lord bringing the wicked's own iniquity upon them.
For reflection
The psalm calls the man whom God chastens blessed, in the middle of a complaint about the wicked going unpunished. What does it mean to want correction for oneself while asking for vengeance on others?
