1 O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
2 Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.
3 Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?
4 How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?
5 They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage.
6 They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
7 Yet they say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.
8 Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
10 He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?
11 The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law;
13 That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.
15 But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
17 Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
18 When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.
19 In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.
20 Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
22 But the Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
23 And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off.
<html><b>show</b> Heb. הופיע, show and reveal to us Your vengeance.</html>
<html><b>boast</b> Heb. יתאמרו. They praise themselves, as (Deut. 26:17f.): “you praised (האמרת),” and “praised you (האמירך).”</html>
<html><b>Understand, [you] most boorish of the people</b> the most foolish peoples in the world.</html>
<html><b>Will He Who implants the ear</b> Is it possible that the Holy One, blessed be He, Who implanted the ear, should not hear the cry of His people and their affliction?</html>
<html><b>will He…not reprove</b> and chastise you for that?</html>
<html><b>The Lord knows</b> your thoughts, that you are thinking to be haughty with the crown of the kingdom, and you should know that they [your thoughts] are vanity.</html>
<html><b>Fortunate is the man</b> Fortunate are the righteous who are afflicted under Your hands, provided that they engage in Torah and mitzvoth.</html>
<html><b>To grant him peace from days of evil</b> For the chastisements cause him to have peace from the days of the judgment of Gehinnom. <b>while</b> he sees that a pit is dug for the wicked man.</html>
<html><b>For until righteousness will judgment return</b> [i.e., the judgment of] their chastisements [will persist] until they become righteous because of them. And after the judgment, all those upright in heart will gather, for they will receive their reward.</html>
<html><b>Who will rise up for me</b> Whose merit will stand up for us among these evildoers?</html>
<html><b>Who will rise up for me</b> Whose merit will stand up for us among these evildoers?</html>
<html><b>Will the throne of evil join You</b> Will it be able to compare to You? <b>for a statute</b> for the sake of a statue, to be for them as the statute of their worship.</html>
<html><b>They gather</b> Troops gather upon a Jewish soul to kill [him]. <b>and condemn</b> Heb. ירשיעו. They condemn in judgment to kill him.</html>
<html><b>their violence</b> Heb. אונם, their violence, as (Job 21:19): “Should God lay away his violence (אונו) for his sons?”</html>