1 O LORD! thou God of vengeance! O thou God of vengeance! shine forth! 2 Rouse thyself, thou judge of the earth! Render a recompense to the proud! 3 How long, O LORD! shall the wicked, How long shall the wicked triumph? 4 How long shall their lips pour forth insolence? How long shall all the evil-doers boast? 5 O LORD! they trample upon thy people, And oppress thine inheritance! 6 They slay the widow, and the stranger, And murder the fatherless; 7 And they say, “The LORD doth not see, The God of Jacob doth not regard!” 8 Be instructed, ye most stupid of mankind! O when, ye fools, 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 nations, shall not he punish? He that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know? 11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of men, That they are vanity. 12 Happy the man, O LORD! whom thou correctest, Whom by thy teaching thou makest wise; 13 To give him peace in the days of adversity, Until a pit be digged for the wicked! 14 For the LORD will not forsake his people, Nor abandon his own inheritance. 15 For judgment shall return to justice, And all the upright in heart shall follow it. 16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will stand up for me against the evil-doers? 17 If the LORD had not been my help, I had well nigh dwelt in the land of silence. 18 When I think that my foot is slipping, Thy goodness, O LORD! holdeth me up. 19 In the multitude of anxieties within me, Thy consolations revive my soul. 20 Shall with thee be allied the throne of iniquity, Which deviseth mischief against law? 21 They band together against the life of the righteous, And condemn innocent blood. 22 But the LORD is my fortress, And my God the rock of my refuge. 23 He will bring upon them their own iniquity; Yea, through their own wickedness he will cut them off; Yea, the LORD, our God, will cut them off.