Psalm 94

God punishes guilty people

1 Lord, you are the God

who punishes guilty people.

God, show your power

to punish people as they deserve!

2  Judge of all people on the earth, do something!

Punish proud people as they deserve!

3 How long will wicked people continue to be happy?

Yes, Lord, how long?

4 Those people who do evil things

speak many proud words.

They boast about how great they are.

5 Lord, see how they hurt your own people.

They are cruel to the people who belong to you.

6 They kill widows

and foreign people who live in our land.

They murder children who have no family.

7 They say, ‘The Lord does not see us.

Israel's God does not see what we are doing.’

8 Think again, all you fools among the people!

Stupid people, become wise!

9 God made our ears!

Can he himself not hear?

He made our eyes!

Does he not see?

10 He teaches the nations what is right.

Will he not punish you,

when you do what is wrong?

He teaches people what they should know.

11 The Lord knows what people think.

He knows that their thoughts are empty.

12 Lord, when you teach people what is right,

you have really blessed them.

You use your Law to teach them.

13 When those people have troubles,

you keep them safe.

Then the wicked people fall into a deep hole

that you have dug to catch them.

14 The Lord will not leave his people alone.

He will not forget to help the people who belong to him.

15 Once again, judges will do what is right and fair,

and good, honest people will agree.

16 Who would fight for me

against the wicked people?

Who would keep me safe

from those people who do evil things?

17 Unless the Lord had helped me,

I would soon have become silent in death.

18 When I think, ‘I am falling down,’

your faithful love keeps me safe, Lord.

19 When I have troubles in my mind,

so that I am afraid,

you help me to be happy again.

20 You will not become a friend of cruel rulers.

They make laws that only hurt people.

21 They join together to work against good people.

They say that people are guilty

who have done nothing wrong.

They say that they must die.

22 But the Lord is a strong place for me.

Yes, my God is a rock

where I can hide and be safe.

23 He will punish those wicked leaders.

He will destroy them,

because they do evil things.

The Lord our God will completely destroy them.