Read the Bible

The LORD Implored to Avenge His People.

¹ O LORD God, You to whom ^(C1)vengeance belongs,
O God, You to whom vengeance belongs, ^(C2)shine forth in judgment!

^2 (C1)Rise up, O ^(C2)Judge of the earth;
Give ^(C3)to the proud a fitting compensation.

³ O LORD, how long will the wicked,
How long will the ^(C1)wicked rejoice in triumph?

⁴ They pour out words, ^(C1)speaking arrogant things;
All who do evil ^(C2)boast proudly. ^(VR1)

⁵ They ^(C1)crush Your people, O LORD,
And ^(C2)afflict and abuse Your heritage.

^6 (F1)They ^(C1)kill the widow and the alien
And murder the fatherless.

⁷ Yet ^(C1)they say, "The LORD does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob (Israel) notice it."

⁸ Consider thoughtfully, you ^(C1)senseless (stupid ones) among the people;
And you dull-minded ^(C1)fools, when will you become wise and understand?

⁹ He who ^(C1)made the ear, does He not hear?
He who formed the eye, does He not see?

¹⁰ He who ^(C1)instructs the nations,
Does He not rebuke and punish,
He who ^(C2)teaches man knowledge?

¹¹ The LORD ^(C1)knows the thoughts of man,
That they are a mere breath (vain, empty, futile). ^(VR1)

¹² Blessed with wisdom and prosperity is the man whom ^(C1)You discipline and instruct, O LORD,
And whom You ^(C2)teach from Your law,

¹³ That You may grant him power to calm himself and find ^(C1)peace in the ^(C2)days of adversity,
Until the ^(C3)pit is dug for the wicked and ungodly.

¹⁴ For ^(C1)the LORD will not abandon His people,
Nor will He ^(C2)abandon His inheritance.

¹⁵ For ^(C1)judgment will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶ Who will ^(C1)stand up for me against the evildoers?
Who will take a stand for me ^(C2)against those who do wickedness?

¹⁷ If ^(C1)the LORD had not been my help,
I would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.

¹⁸ If I say, "^(C1)My foot has slipped,"
Your compassion and lovingkindness, O LORD, will hold me up.

¹⁹ When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Your ^(C1)comforts delight me.

²⁰ Can a ^(C1)throne of destruction be allied with You,
^(C2)One which frames and devises mischief by decree under the sacred name of law?

²¹ They ^(C1)band themselves together against the life of the righteous
And ^(C2)condemn the innocent to death.

²² But the LORD has become my ^(C1)high tower and defense,
And my God the ^(C2)rock of my refuge.

²³ He has ^(C1)turned back their own wickedness upon them
And will ^(C2)destroy them by means of their own evil;
The LORD our God will wipe them out.