| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongs— O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth! | 1O LORD, the God who avenges! O God who avenges, reveal your splendor! |
| 2Rise up, O Judge of the earth; Render punishment to the proud. | 2Rise up, O judge of the earth! Pay back the proud! |
| 3LORD, how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph? | 3O LORD, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked celebrate? |
| 4They utter speech, and speak insolent things; All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves. | 4They spew out threats and speak defiantly; all the evildoers boast. |
| 5They break in pieces Your people, O LORD, And afflict Your heritage. | 5O LORD, they crush your people; they oppress the nation that belongs to you. |
| 6They slay the widow and the stranger, And murder the fatherless. | 6They kill the widow and the one residing outside his native land, and they murder the fatherless. |
| 7Yet they say, “The LORD does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob understand.” | 7Then they say, "The LORD does not see this; the God of Jacob does not take notice of it." |
| 8Understand, you senseless among the people; And you fools, when will you be wise? | 8Take notice of this, you ignorant people! You fools, when will you ever understand? |
| 9He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see? | 9Does the one who makes the human ear not hear? Does the one who forms the human eye not see? |
| 10He who instructs the nations, shall He not correct, He who teaches man knowledge? | 10Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish? He is the one who imparts knowledge to human beings! |
| 11The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they are futile. | 11The LORD knows that peoples' thoughts are morally bankrupt. |
| 12Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O LORD, And teach out of Your law, | 12How blessed is the one whom you instruct, O LORD, the one whom you teach from your law, |
| 13That You may give him rest from the days of adversity, Until the pit is dug for the wicked. | 13in order to protect him from times of trouble, until the wicked are destroyed. |
| 14For the LORD will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance. | 14Certainly the LORD does not forsake his people; he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him. |
| 15But judgment will return to righteousness, And all the upright in heart will follow it. | 15For justice will prevail, and all the morally upright will be vindicated. |
| 16Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? | 16Who will rise up to defend me against the wicked? Who will stand up for me against the evildoers? |
| 17Unless the LORD had been my help, My soul would soon have settled in silence. | 17If the LORD had not helped me, I would have laid down in the silence of death. |
| 18If I say, “My foot slips,” Your mercy, O LORD, will hold me up. | 18If I say, "My foot is slipping," your loyal love, O LORD, supports me. |
| 19In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul. | 19When worries threaten to overwhelm me, your soothing touch makes me happy. |
| 20Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, Have fellowship with You? | 20Cruel rulers are not your allies, those who make oppressive laws. |
| 21They gather together against the life of the righteous, And condemn innocent blood. | 21They conspire against the blameless, and condemn to death the innocent. |
| 22But the LORD has been my defense, And my God the rock of my refuge. | 22But the LORD will protect me, and my God will shelter me. |
| 23He has brought on them their own iniquity, And shall cut them off in their own wickedness; The LORD our God shall cut them off. | 23He will pay them back for their sin. He will destroy them because of their evil; the LORD our God will destroy them. |
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