Psalms 94:1
in Psalms 94O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
O Jehovah, thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, Thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, shine forth.
KJV
O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
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This verse in Psalms 94
Commentary
11 notes on this verseWe are always discussing the title, so that from the title the psalm too may be understood. "A psalm of David, on the fourth day of the week." The fourth day of the week is in the middle of the week, as if in the heart of the week — that is, in the middle of the seven days. For it is the fourth day, and the fourth day has an equal number of days on either side.
This site's exposition
God of vengeance, shine forth
on Psalms 94:1-3
The psalm hands the vengeance to God and asks the Judge of the earth to rise up. Deuteronomy 32:35 claims the vengeance for God Himself, and Paul quotes that verse at Romans 12:19 against private revenge. Verse 3 asks how long, twice over.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"The Lord is the God of vengeances; the God of vengeances has acted freely." He who for so long lay hidden and did not appear among the people, afterward acted freely. He who before was unknown, afterward triumphed on the cross. "The Lord is the God of vengeances." If the Lord is the God of vengeances ("Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, says the Lord"), why do you, O man, desire to avenge yourself? You have the Lord as your avenger. The Apostle says this too: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink: for in doing this you will heap coals of fire upon his head." This does not seem to belong to kindness, but to cruelty. For if I do him good so that God may do him evil, this does not come from kindness, but from a cruelty of mind. For what does the Apostle say? "If your enemy is hungry, feed him." A dutiful utterance. "If he thirsts, give him drink." Up to this point it seems to be mercy. But what he adds — "for in doing this you will heap coals of fire upon his head" — does not seem to belong to mercy, but to cruelty. For you seem to give bread and to give water to drink for this reason: that he may be tormented for ages. And does the Apostle say this — does the preacher of mercy teach cruelty? It must therefore not be taken so, but in another sense. If your enemy strikes you, offer him the other cheek as well; if he does you evil, do him good: for if you do this, you will heap coals of fire upon his head. What he says is this: you will cleanse him from sin; for his cruelty will be overcome by your patience. If you aim an arrow at a stone, and the stone is hard, not only is it not driven in, but it rebounds: so your enemy, if he has struck you and has not been struck back, overcome by your patience will return to better things.
Deus ultionum Dominus, Deus ultionum libere egit — "The God of vengeance is the Lord; the God of vengeance has acted freely." Whether you say the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit, according to the principle of the Trinity which we set forth in the Gospel, he is both God and Lord. "The God of vengeance has acted freely": he who was despised in his lowliness will afterward take vengeance in his majesty.
Let us now attend to the Psalm. "The Lord is the God of vengeance; the God of vengeance hath dealt confidently" (ver. 1). Dost thou think that He doth not punish? "The God of vengeance" punisheth. What is, "The God of vengeance"? The God of punishments. Thou murmurest surely because the bad are not punished: yet do not murmur, lest thou be among those who are punished. That man hath committed a theft, and liveth: thou murmurest against God, because he who committed a theft on thee dieth not. ...Therefore, if thou wouldest have another correct his hand, do thou first correct thy tongue: thou wouldest have him correct his heart towards man, correct thy heart towards God; lest perchance, when thou desirest the vengeance of God, if it come, it find thee first. For He will come: He will come, and will judge those who continue in their wickedness, ungrateful for the prolongation of His mercy, for His long-suffering, treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds: because, "The Lord is the God of vengeance," therefore hath He "dealt confidently." ...Our safety is our Saviour: in Him He would place the hope of all the needy and poor. And what saith He? "I will deal confidently in Him." What meaneth this? He will not fear, will not spare the lusts and vices of men. Truly, as a faithful physician, with the healing knife of preaching in His hand, He hath cut away all our wounded parts. Therefore such as He was prophesied and preached beforehand, such was He found. ...How great things then did He, of whom it is said, "He taught them as one having authority," say unto them? "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" What great things did He say unto them, before their face? He feared no one. Why? Because He is the God of vengeance. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Lift up thyself, to be seen, to be feared; and suffer not thy name to be trampled upon and run down." (2.) That he would mortify the oppressors: Render a reward to the proud; that is, "Reckon with them for all their insolence, and the injuries they have done to thy people." These prayers are prophecies, which speak terror to all the sons of violence.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth,....
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; 0 God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself: or, God of retribution, Jehovah, God of retribution, shine forth! A very natural prayer when innocence is trampled down, and wickedness exalted on high. If the execution of justice be a right thing, —and who can deny the fact?
O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; 0 God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself: or, God of retribution, Jehovah, God of retribution, shine forth! A very natural prayer when innocence is trampled down, and wickedness exalted on high. If the execution of justice be a right thing, —and who can deny the fact?—then it must be a very proper thing to desire it; not out of private revenge, in which case a man would hardly dare to appeal to God, but out of sympathy with right, and pity for those who are made wrongfully to suffer, Who can see a nation enslaved, or even an individual downtrodden, without crying to the Lord to arise and vindicate the righteous cause? The toleration of injustice is here attributed to the Lord's being hidden, and it is implied that the bare sight of him will suffice to alarm the tyrants into ceasing their oppressions. God has but to show himself, and the good cause wins the day. He comes, he sees, he conquers! Truly in these evil days we need a manifest display of his power, for the ancient enemies of God and man are again struggling for the mastery, and if they gain it, woe unto the saints of God.
O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth - God is the author of retributive justice, as well as of mercy. This retributive justice is what we often term vengeance, but perhaps improperly; for vengeance with us signifies an excitement of angry passions, in order to gratify a vindictive spirit, which supposes itself to have received some real injury; whereas what is here referred to is that simple act of justice which gives to all their due.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth ... - Margin, God of revenges The idea is, that it pertains to God to take vengeance, or to punish for crimes. See the notes at Rom 12:19. The appeal here is made to God in view of the crimes committed by others, and which are referred to in the subsequent part of the psalm. God is addressed as having the right to restrain and punish wicked people, and he is asked to interpose and assert that right in a case which clearly demanded it. The appeal is repeated to make it emphatic, or to denote “earnestness” in the petition. Show thyself - Margin, as in Hebrew, “shine forth.” The meaning is, Manifest thyself; come forth as such a God; prove thy right; display thy power, and show that thou art a God opposed to crime and wrong. The same Hebrew word is used here which is found in Psa 80:1, and which is there rendered “shine forth.” See the notes at that passage.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵל־ | ʾel- | O God of | H410 → | 241 times |
| נְקָמ֥וֹת | nekamot | vengeance<s> | H5360 → | 27 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵ֖ל | ʾel | O God of | H410 → | 241 times |
| נְקָמ֣וֹת | nekamot | vengeance<s> | H5360 → | 27 times |
| הוֹפִֽיַע׃ | hofiya' | shine forth | H3313 → | 8 times |
אֵל־O God of
ʾel-H410 →241 times
נְקָמ֥וֹתvengeance<s>
nekamotH5360 →27 times
יְהוָ֑הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵ֖לO God of
ʾelH410 →241 times
נְקָמ֣וֹתvengeance<s>
nekamotH5360 →27 times
הוֹפִֽיַע׃shine forth
hofiya'H3313 →8 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 12:19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:30
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 32:35
Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
- Proverbs 24:29
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
- Proverbs 20:22
Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
- Romans 12:17
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
- Hebrews 10:30
Through
Hebrews 10:30For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
it leads to
- Romans 12:19
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 32:35–36
Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
- Nahum 1:2
The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 12:19
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 94; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jerome, Homily 22, on Psalm 93; Jerome, Homily 71, on Psalm 93 (Alternate Series); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.