The Lord Will Not Forsake His People
1 O Lord, God of pvengeance,
O God of vengeance, qshine forth!
2 rRise up, O sjudge of the earth;
repay to the tproud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, uhow long shall the wicked,
how long shall vthe wicked exult?
4 They pour out their warrogant words;
all xthe evildoers boast.
5 They ycrush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill zthe widow and the sojourner,
and murder zthe fatherless;
7 aand they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 bUnderstand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
9 cHe who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who ddisciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who eteaches man knowledge—
11 fthe Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
12 hBlessed is the man whom you idiscipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him jrest from kdays of trouble,
until la pit is dug for the wicked.
14 mFor the Lord will not forsake his npeople;
he will not abandon his nheritage;
15 for ojustice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will pfollow it.
16 qWho rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 rIf the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of ssilence.
18 When I thought, t“My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, uheld me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wwicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame2 injustice by xstatute?
21 They yband together against the life of the righteous
and condemn zthe innocent to death.3
22 But the Lord has become my astronghold,
and my God bthe rock of my crefuge.
23 He will bring back on them dtheir iniquity
and ewipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
Greeting
1 Paul, aan apostle of Christ Jesus bby command of cGod our Savior and of Christ Jesus dour hope,
2 To Timothy, emy true child in the faith:
fGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warning Against False Teachers
3 gAs I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not hto teach any different doctrine, 4 nor ito devote themselves to myths and endless jgenealogies, which promote kspeculations rather than the stewardship1 from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love lthat issues from a pure heart and ma good conscience and na sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by oswerving from these, have wandered away into pvain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, qwithout understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
8 Now we know that rthe law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the slaw is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,2 liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to tsound3 doctrine, 11 in accordance with uthe gospel of the glory of vthe blessed God wwith which I have been entrusted.
