| English Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth! | 1 LORD, God of vengeance-- God of vengeance, appear. |
| 2Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve! | 2Rise up, Judge of the earth; repay the proud what they deserve. |
| 3O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult? | 3 LORD, how long will the wicked-- how long will the wicked gloat? |
| 4They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast. | 4They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers boast. |
| 5They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage. | 5 LORD, they crush Your people; they afflict Your heritage. |
| 6They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless; | 6They kill the widow and the foreigner and murder the fatherless. |
| 7and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.” | 7They say, "The LORD doesn't see it. The God of Jacob doesn't pay attention." |
| 8Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? | 8Pay attention, you stupid people! Fools, when will you be wise? |
| 9He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? | 9Can the One who shaped the ear not hear, the One who formed the eye not see? |
| 10He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge— | 10The One who instructs nations, the One who teaches man knowledge-- does He not discipline? |
| 11the LORD—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath. | 11The LORD knows man's thoughts; they are meaningless. |
| 12Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law, | 12 LORD, happy is the man You discipline and teach from Your law |
| 13to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. | 13to give him relief from troubled times until a pit is dug for the wicked. |
| 14For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; | 14The LORD will not forsake His people or abandon His heritage, |
| 15for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. | 15for justice will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. |
| 16Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? | 16Who stands up for me against the wicked? Who takes a stand for me against evildoers? |
| 17If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. | 17If the LORD had not been my helper, I would soon rest in the silence of death. |
| 18When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. | 18If I say, "My foot is slipping," Your faithful love will support me, LORD. |
| 19When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. | 19When I am filled with cares, Your comfort brings me joy. |
| 20Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute? | 20Can a corrupt throne-- one that creates trouble by law-- become Your ally? |
| 21They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. | 21They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. |
| 22But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. | 22But the LORD is my refuge; my God is the rock of my protection. |
| 23He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out. | 23He will pay them back for their sins and destroy them for their evil. The LORD our God will destroy them. |
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