Psalms 94:7-17

7 They say, "The Lord does not see us; the God of Israel does not notice."
8 My people, how can you be such stupid fools? When will you ever learn?
9 God made our ears - can't he hear? He made our eyes - can't he see?
10 He scolds the nations - won't he punish them? He is the teacher of us all - hasn't he any knowledge?
11 The Lord knows what we think; 1 he knows how senseless our reasoning is.
12 Lord, how happy are those you instruct, the ones to whom you teach your law!
13 You give them rest from days of trouble until a pit is dug to trap the wicked.
14 The Lord will not abandon his people; he will not desert those who belong to him.
15 Justice will again be found in the courts, and all righteous people will support it.
16 Who stood up for me against the wicked? Who took my side against the evildoers?
17 If the Lord had not helped me, I would have gone quickly to the land of silence.

Psalms 94:7-17 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 1

  • 1. 94.111 Corinthians 3.20.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. them?; [or] our wicked leaders?
  • [b]. land of silence: [The world of the dead (see 6.5).]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.