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,

that they are ^gbut a breath.¹

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.

1  Behold, ^cthe Lord will empty the earth¹ and make it desolate,

and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.

2  ^dAnd it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;

as with the slave, so with his master;

as with the maid, so with her mistress;

^eas with the buyer, so with the seller;

as with the lender, so with the borrower;

^fas with the creditor, so with the debtor.

3  ^gThe earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;

^hfor the Lord has spoken this word.

4  ⁱThe earth mourns and withers;

the world languishes and withers;

the highest people of the earth languish.

5  The earth lies ^jdefiled

under its inhabitants;

for ^kthey have transgressed the laws,

violated the statutes,

broken the everlasting covenant.

6  Therefore ^la curse devours the earth,

and its inhabitants ^msuffer for their guilt;

therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,

and few men are left.

7  ⁿThe wine mourns,

the vine languishes,

all the merry-hearted sigh.

8  ^oThe mirth of the tambourines is stilled,

the noise of the jubilant has ceased,

the mirth of the lyre is stilled.

9  No more do they drink wine ^pwith singing;

strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.

10  ^qThe wasted city is broken down;

^revery house is shut up so that none can enter.

11  ^sThere is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;

^tall joy has grown dark;

the gladness of the earth is banished.

12  Desolation is left in the city;

the gates are battered into ruins.

13  For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth

among the nations,

^uas when an olive tree is beaten,

as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.

14  They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;

over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.²

15  ^vTherefore in the east³ give glory to the Lord;

in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

16  ^wFrom the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,

of glory to ^xthe Righteous One.

But I say, “I waste away,

I waste away. Woe is me!

For ^ythe traitors have betrayed,

with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”