Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 94:1 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 1. 1O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 94:1: The petition “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth” belongs to the prayer “How long until the judge confronts oppression?: How long will arrogant oppressors boast?,” not to an isolated command.
Vengeance is asked from the judge, not seized as a private right
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 94:1–7. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 94:1–7
- Psalms 94:1–23
Read Psalms 94:1 with 94:1–7 and 94:1–23. Read alone, “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth” could lose the communal voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 94:1–7, the communal voice carries the movement “How long will arrogant oppressors boast?” as part of “How long until the judge confronts oppression?.” Its communal-lament-imprecation form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 94:1–7 opens Psalm 94 with “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself” and establishes the communal voice and “How long will arrogant oppressors boast?” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Within that relationship, Psalm 94:1 directs a petition or address toward God in “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth” rather than turning the line into a command against another person.
Follow the Context
- Identify the communal voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 94:1–7; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 94:1–7, the communal voice carries the movement “How long will arrogant oppressors boast?” as part of “How long until the judge confronts oppression?.” Its communal-lament-imprecation form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
- This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The poem names systemic violence and appeals to divine justice; it does not authorize torture, revenge, or partisan demonization.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 94:1 does not allow “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse directs a petition or address toward God in “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth” rather than turning the line into a command against another person. The complete movement is “How long will arrogant oppressors boast?.” This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The poem names systemic violence and appeals to divine justice; it does not authorize torture, revenge, or partisan demonization.
What Remains True
Book IV gives Psalm 94:1 a larger home, while “How long will arrogant oppressors boast?” supplies its immediate one. Psalm 94:1 directs a petition or address toward God in “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth” rather than turning the line into a command against another person. Therefore, Wrong and rage may be named honestly before the LORD, yet judgment remains accountable to justice and never turns another person into disposable prey. The local movement is “How long will arrogant oppressors boast?.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The poem names systemic violence and appeals to divine justice; it does not authorize torture, revenge, or partisan demonization.
How It Can Shape Life
- The practice should match “How long until the judge confronts oppression?: How long will arrogant oppressors boast?” rather than an isolated slogan. Psalm 94:1 directs a petition or address toward God in “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth” rather than turning the line into a command against another person. Therefore, When “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth” voices danger or judgment, verify the harm, protect those at risk, and submit retaliation to lawful and accountable processes.
Teach It Back
Starting from the verse role—Psalm 94:1 directs a petition or address toward God in “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth” rather than turning the line into a command against another person.—walk through the parallel lines of Psalms 94:1–7. State what remains true, how it shapes life, what remains uncertain, and why the poem does not authorize this use: This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The poem names systemic violence and appeals to divine justice; it does not authorize torture, revenge, or partisan demonization.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 94:1–7 — How long until the judge confronts oppression?: How long will arrogant oppressors boast?Sources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
Where care is needed
The poem names systemic violence and appeals to divine justice; it does not authorize torture, revenge, or partisan demonization.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 94:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 94:1–7
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 94:1–7.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 94 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 94:1–7
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 94:1–7
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 94 for Psalms 94:1–7
Open NETS Psalms ↗peer reviewed open access research overview
An Overview of the Study of Imprecatory Psalms: Reformed and Evangelical Approaches to the Interpretation of Imprecatory Psalms
Daniel Simango and P. Paul Krüger
Old Testament Essays 29.3, 2016
Supports: Major historical, literary, covenantal, ethical, and reception approaches to curses and enemy language.
Exact location: Simango and Krüger, 'An Overview of the Study of Imprecatory Psalms,' OTE 29.3 (2016), pp. 581–600, complete approach survey; applied to Psalms 94:1–7
Open the imprecatory-psalm overview ↗peer reviewed open access literary and ethical study
Embracing the Psalter's imprecatory words in the 21st century
Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford
Acta Theologica Supplementum 32, 2021
Supports: Imprecation retained as difficult prayer and communal speech without converting violent wishes into commands or erasing Jewish reception.
Exact location: deClaissé-Walford, 'Embracing the Psalter's imprecatory words,' Acta Theologica Suppl. 32 (2021), pp. 275–292, especially literary, liturgical, trauma, and ethical proposal; applied to Psalms 94:1–7
Open deClaissé-Walford on imprecation ↗