Psalms 94:4-17
Psalms 94:3-19 The Message (MSG)
GOD, the wicked get away with murder— how long will you let this go on? They brag and boast and crow about their crimes! They walk all over your people, GOD, exploit and abuse your precious people. They take out anyone who gets in their way; if they can’t use them, they kill them. They think, “GOD isn’t looking, Jacob’s God is out to lunch.” Well, think again, you idiots, fools—how long before you get smart? Do you think Ear-Maker doesn’t hear, Eye-Shaper doesn’t see? Do you think the trainer of nations doesn’t correct, the teacher of Adam doesn’t know? GOD knows, all right— knows your stupidity, sees your shallowness. How blessed the man you train, GOD, the woman you instruct in your Word, Providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil, while a jail is being built for the wicked. GOD will never walk away from his people, never desert his precious people. Rest assured that justice is on its way and every good heart put right. Who stood up for me against the wicked? Who took my side against evil workers? If GOD hadn’t been there for me, I never would have made it. The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,” your love, GOD, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, you calmed me down and cheered me up.
Psalms 94:4-17 King James Version (KJV)
How long shall they utter and speak hard things? And all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, And afflict thine heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, And murder the fatherless. Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, Neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. Understand, ye brutish among the people: And ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? He that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know? The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, That they are vanity. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, And teachest him out of thy law; That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, Until the pit be digged for the wicked. For the LORD will not cast off his people, Neither will he forsake his inheritance. But judgment shall return unto righteousness: And all the upright in heart shall follow it. Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? Unless the LORD had been my help, My soul had almost dwelt in silence.
Psalms 94:4-17 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly; All who do wickedness vaunt themselves. They crush Your people, O LORD, And afflict Your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger And murder the orphans. They have said, “The LORD does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.” Pay heed, you senseless among the people; And when will you understand, stupid ones? He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see? He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke, Even He who teaches man knowledge? The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they are a mere breath. Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O LORD, And whom You teach out of Your law; That You may grant him relief from the days of adversity, Until a pit is dug for the wicked. For the LORD will not abandon His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance. For judgment will again be righteous, And all the upright in heart will follow it. Who will stand up for me against evildoers? Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness? If the LORD had not been my help, My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.
Psalms 94:4-17 New Century Version (NCV)
They are full of proud words; those who do evil brag about what they have done. LORD, they crush your people and make your children suffer. They kill widows and foreigners and murder orphans. They say, “The LORD doesn’t see; the God of Jacob doesn’t notice.” You stupid ones among the people, pay attention. You fools, when will you understand? Can’t the creator of ears hear? Can’t the maker of eyes see? Won’t the one who corrects nations punish you? Doesn’t the teacher of people know everything? The LORD knows what people think. He knows their thoughts are just a puff of wind. LORD, those you correct are happy; you teach them from your law. You give them rest from times of trouble until a pit is dug for the wicked. The LORD won’t leave his people nor give up his children. Judgment will again be fair, and all who are honest will follow it. Who will help me fight against the wicked? Who will stand with me against those who do evil? If the LORD had not helped me, I would have died in a minute.
Psalms 94:4-17 American Standard Version (ASV)
They prate, they speak arrogantly: All the workers of iniquity boast themselves. They break in pieces thy people, O Jehovah, And afflict thy heritage. They slay the widow and the sojourner, And murder the fatherless. And they say, Jehovah will not see, Neither will the God of Jacob consider. Consider, ye brutish among the people; And ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? He that chastiseth the nations, shall not he correct, Even he that teacheth man knowledge? Jehovah knoweth the thoughts of man, That they are vanity. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Jehovah, And teachest out of thy law; That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, Until the pit be digged for the wicked. For Jehovah will not cast off his people, Neither will he forsake his inheritance. For judgment shall return unto righteousness; And all the upright in heart shall follow it. Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? Unless Jehovah had been my help, My soul had soon dwelt in silence.
Psalms 94:4-17 New International Version (NIV)
They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting. They crush your people, LORD; they oppress your inheritance. They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless. They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.” Take notice, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise? Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge? The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile. Blessed is the one you discipline, LORD, the one you teach from your law; you grant them relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked. For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance. Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it. Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
Psalms 94:4-17 New King James Version (NKJV)
They utter speech, and speak insolent things; All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves. They break in pieces Your people, O LORD, And afflict Your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, And murder the fatherless. Yet they say, “The LORD does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob understand.” Understand, you senseless among the people; And you fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see? He who instructs the nations, shall He not correct, He who teaches man knowledge? The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they are futile. Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O LORD, And teach out of Your law, That You may give him rest from the days of adversity, Until the pit is dug for the wicked. For the LORD will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance. But judgment will return to righteousness, And all the upright in heart will follow it. Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? Unless the LORD had been my help, My soul would soon have settled in silence.
Psalms 94:4-17 Amplified Bible (AMP)
They pour out words, speaking arrogant things; All who do evil boast proudly. [Jude 14, 15] They crush Your people, O LORD, And afflict and abuse Your heritage. They kill the widow and the alien And murder the fatherless. Yet they say, “The LORD does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob (Israel) notice it.” ¶Consider thoughtfully, you senseless (stupid ones) among the people; And you [dull-minded] fools, when will you become wise and understand? He who made the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see? He who instructs the nations, Does He not rebuke and punish, He who teaches man knowledge? The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they are a mere breath (vain, empty, futile). [1 Cor 3:20] ¶Blessed [with wisdom and prosperity] is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O LORD, And whom You teach from Your law, That You may grant him [power to calm himself and find] peace in the days of adversity, Until the pit is dug for the wicked and ungodly. For the LORD will not abandon His people, Nor will He abandon His inheritance. For judgment will again be righteous, And all the upright in heart will follow it. Who will stand up for me against the evildoers? Who will take a stand for me against those who do wickedness? ¶If the LORD had not been my help, I would soon have dwelt in [the land of] silence.
Psalms 94:4-17 New Living Translation (NLT)
How long will they speak with arrogance? How long will these evil people boast? They crush your people, LORD, hurting those you claim as your own. They kill widows and foreigners and murder orphans. “The LORD isn’t looking,” they say, “and besides, the God of Israel doesn’t care.” Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on? Is he deaf—the one who made your ears? Is he blind—the one who formed your eyes? He punishes the nations—won’t he also punish you? He knows everything—doesn’t he also know what you are doing? The LORD knows people’s thoughts; he knows they are worthless! Joyful are those you discipline, LORD, those you teach with your instructions. You give them relief from troubled times until a pit is dug to capture the wicked. The LORD will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession. Judgment will again be founded on justice, and those with virtuous hearts will pursue it. Who will protect me from the wicked? Who will stand up for me against evildoers? Unless the LORD had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave.
Psalms 94:4-17 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Listen to them bragging among themselves, big in their own eyes, all because of the crimes they’ve committed against your people! See how they’re crushing those who love you, God, cruelly oppressing those who belong to you. Heartlessly they murder the widows, the foreigners, and even the orphaned children. They say to themselves, “The Lord God doesn’t see this. Their God, the God of Jacob, he doesn’t even care!” But you’d better watch out, you stupid fools! You’d better wise up! Why would you act like God doesn’t exist? Do you really think that God can’t hear their cries? God isn’t hard of hearing; he’ll hear all their cries. God isn’t blind. He who made the eye has superb vision, and he’s watching all you do. Won’t the God who knows all things know what you’ve done? The God who punishes nations will surely punish you! The Lord has fully examined every thought of man and found them all to be empty and futile. Lord Yah, there’s such a blessing that comes when you teach us your Word and your ways. Even the sting of your correction can be sweet. It rescues us from our days of trouble until you are ready to punish the wicked. For the Lord will never walk away from his cherished ones, nor would he forsake his chosen ones who belong to him. Whenever you pronounce judgments, they reveal righteousness. All your devoted lovers will be pleased. Lord, who will protect me from these wicked ones? If you don’t stand to defend me, who will? I have no one but you! I would have been killed so many times if you had not been there for me.
Psalms 94:4-17 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast. They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage. They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless; and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.” Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge— the LORD—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath. Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.