Psalms 94:4-14

4 They pour forth words, they 1speak arrogantly; All who do wickedness 2vaunt themselves.
5 They 3crush Your people, O LORD, And 4afflict Your heritage.
6 They 5slay the widow and the stranger And murder the orphans.
7 6They have said, "The LORD does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed."
8 Pay heed, you 7senseless among the people; And when will you understand, 8stupid ones?
9 He who 9planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see?
10 He who 10chastens the nations, will He not rebuke, Even He who 11teaches man knowledge?
11 The LORD 12knows the thoughts of man, That they are a mere breath.
12 Blessed is the man whom 13You chasten, O LORD, And 14whom You teach out of Your law;
13 That You may grant him 15relief from the 16days of adversity, Until 17a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For 18the LORD will not abandon His people, Nor will He 19forsake His inheritance.

Psalms 94:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 94

Some, as Jarchi and others, think this psalm was written by Moses; others, with greater probability, assign it to David; as do the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions; and which all but the Syriac version say it was composed to be sung on the fourth day of the week, on which day the Talmudists say it was sung; see the argument of the preceding psalm. This psalm and others, that go before and follow, are without any title in the Hebrew Bible: the title of it in the Syriac version is,

``a Psalm of David, concerning the company of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; but spiritually, concerning the persecution against the church;''

not of the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt, as some; nor of the Jews in their present exile, as Kimchi; but rather of the people of God under the tyranny of antichrist; who are represented as complaining of his insults and cruelty, and as comforting themselves in the hopes of deliverance, and in the view of his destruction.

Cross References 19

  • 1. Psalms 31:18; Psalms 75:5
  • 2. Psalms 10:3; Psalms 52:1
  • 3. Isaiah 3:15
  • 4. Psalms 79:1
  • 5. Isaiah 10:2
  • 6. Job 22:13; Psalms 10:11
  • 7. Psalms 92:6
  • 8. Psalms 92:6
  • 9. Exodus 4:11; Proverbs 20:12
  • 10. Psalms 44:2
  • 11. Job 35:11; Isaiah 28:26
  • 12. Job 11:11; 1 Corinthians 3:20
  • 13. Deuteronomy 8:5; Job 5:17; Psalms 119:71; Proverbs 3:11, 12; Hebrews 12:5, 6
  • 14. Psalms 119:171
  • 15. Job 34:29; Habakkuk 3:16
  • 16. Psalms 49:5
  • 17. Psalms 9:15; Psalms 55:23
  • 18. 1 Samuel 12:22; Lamentations 3:31; Romans 11:2
  • 19. Psalms 37:28

Footnotes 7

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