Psalm 94 is the 94th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 93. In Latin, it is known as "Deus ultionum". This psalm is referred to as one of the Royal Psalms, Psalms 93–99, praising God as the King of His people, although as Gordon Churchyard notes, God is referred to here as judge rather than king. Alexander Kirkpatrick divides it into two sections. In the first section, up to verse 11, the psalmist calls on God "to manifest Himself as judge of the earth", while "the second part of the Psalm is occupied with thoughts of consolation for times of trouble". The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic liturgies. It has been set to music, for example by Baroque composers Heinrich Schütz and Johann Sebastian Bach (cantata BWV 21) in German. Julius Reubke composed the Sonata on the 94th Psalm for organ, first performed in 1857.

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

King James Version

Uses

Judaism

Literature

Israeli historian Dina Porat titled her book about the Nakam group which sought revenge for the Holocaust "Vengeance and Retribution are Mine" to express her belief that humans should leave revenge for God.

Monuments

The beginning of verse 15 from Psalm 94 is quoted at the Peace Tower in Ottawa, a Canadian landmark.

New Testament

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz set the Psalm 94 in a metred version in German as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628, "Gott, dem alle Rach heimfällt", SWV 192. Sonata on the 94th Psalm for organ was composed by Julius Reubke, a student of Franz Liszt, and first performed in 1857; It is programmatically based on selected verses, 1-3, 6-7, 17, 19, 22-23, and became a staple of the organ repertoire.