Psalm 94

Psalm 94 is the 94th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 93. In Latin, it is known as "Deus ultionum". This psalm is referred to as one of the Royal Psalms, Psalms 93–99, praising God as the King of His people, although as Gordon Churchyard notes, God is referred to here as judge rather than king.

Alexander Kirkpatrick divides it into two sections. In the first section, up to verse 11, the psalmist calls on God "to manifest Himself as judge of the earth", while "the second part of the Psalm is occupied with thoughts of consolation for times of trouble".

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic liturgies. It has been set to music, for example by Baroque composers Heinrich Schütz and Johann Sebastian Bach (cantata BWV 21) in German. Julius Reubke composed the Sonata on the 94th Psalm for organ, first performed in 1857.

Hebrew
The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

King James Version

 * 1) O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
 * 2) Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.
 * 3) LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?
 * 4) How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?
 * 5) They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage.
 * 6) They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
 * 7) Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.
 * 8) Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
 * 9) He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
 * 10) He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?
 * 11) The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
 * 12) Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
 * 13) That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
 * 14) For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.
 * 15) But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.
 * 16) Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
 * 17) Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
 * 18) When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.
 * 19) In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.
 * 20) Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
 * 21) They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
 * 22) But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
 * 23) And 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.

Judaism

 * Is recited in its entirety, along with the first three verses of Psalm 95, as the psalm of the day for the Shir Shel Yom of Wednesday.
 * Is recited on the fifth day of Sukkot.
 * Verse 1 is part of Mishnah Tamid 7:4.
 * Verse 1-2 are the sixth and seventh verses of V'hu Rachum in Pesukei Dezimra.
 * Verse 14 is the sixteenth verse of Yehi Kivod in Pesukei Dezimra.

Literature
Israeli historian Dina Porat titled her book about the Nakam group which sought revenge for the Holocaust "Vengeance and Retribution are Mine" to express her belief that humans should leave revenge for God.

Monuments
The beginning of verse 15 from Psalm 94 is quoted at the Peace Tower in Ottawa, a Canadian landmark.

New Testament

 * Verse 11 is quoted in 1 Corinthians.
 * Verse 14 is quoted in Romans.

Musical settings
Heinrich Schütz set the Psalm 94 in a metred version in German as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628, "Gott, dem alle Rach heimfällt", SWV 192.

Sonata on the 94th Psalm for organ was composed by Julius Reubke, a student of Franz Liszt, and first performed in 1857; It is programmatically based on selected verses, 1-3, 6-7, 17, 19, 22-23, and became a staple of the organ repertoire.