Psalm 94 — The Judge who sees oppression — Hebrew and Greek compared
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
Psalm 94 — The Judge who sees oppression
Verse 94:1 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:1] God of vengeance, YHWH,
God of vengeance, shine forth!
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:1] A psalm of David, for the fourth day of the week.
The God of vengeance is the Lord;
the God of vengeance spoke openly.
Classification & Notes
Divergent. Text: Greek adds David and the weekly occasion. Hebrew appeals for shining forth; Greek recounts open or bold self-expression. Greek eparresiasato is not silently replaced by the Hebrew light verb.
Verse 94:2 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:2] Rise up, Judge of the earth;
return recompense upon the proud.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:2] Be exalted, Judge of the earth;
give repayment to the arrogant.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: The petition for judgment and repayment agrees, with rising and exaltation and proud and arrogant retaining source nuance.
Verse 94:3 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:3] How long, YHWH, will the wicked—
how long will the wicked exult?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:3] How long, Lord, will sinners—
how long will sinners boast,
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew exulting becomes Greek boasting; wicked becomes sinners. Greek continues the question into the following verse.
Verse 94:4 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:4] They pour forth, they speak arrogance;
all evildoers boast.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:4] utter and speak injustice—
will all who work lawlessness speak?
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew arrogance becomes Greek injustice; the final Hebrew boasting is Greek speaking. The Greek question’s scope carries forward from verse three.
Verse 94:5 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:5] They crush Your people, YHWH,
and afflict Your inheritance.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:5] They humbled Your people, Lord,
and mistreated Your inheritance.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both describe oppression of God’s people; crushing and humiliation differ in imagery and verbal presentation.
Verse 94:6 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:6] They kill the widow and resident foreigner
and murder orphans.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:6] They killed the widow and newcomer
and murdered orphans.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: The vulnerable victims and killings agree. Greek newcomer renders proselutos without imposing a later formal conversion requirement.
Verse 94:7 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:7] They say, Yah does not see;
the God of Jacob does not understand.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:7] They said, The Lord will not see,
nor will the God of Jacob understand.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both report the oppressors’ claim, not the psalmist’s endorsement; present and future verbal force differ.
Verse 94:8 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:8] Understand, you brutish among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:8] Understand now, you senseless among the people;
and you fools, become wise at last.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew asks when wisdom will come; Greek commands it at last. Greek pote is rendered as an indefinite adverb with the imperative, not as a future question.
Verse 94:9 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:9] Will the One who planted the ear not hear?
Will the One who formed the eye not see?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:9] Does the One who planted the ear not hear,
or the One who formed the eye not perceive?
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: The creator-of-senses argument agrees; seeing and perceiving retain the source verbs.
Verse 94:10 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:10] Will the One who disciplines nations not rebuke—
the One who teaches humankind knowledge?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:10] Will the One who disciplines nations not rebuke—
the One who teaches humankind knowledge?
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: Both preserve the final teacher phrase without supplying an additional predicate.
Verse 94:11 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:11] YHWH knows human thoughts,
that they are a breath.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:11] The Lord knows human reasonings,
that they are futile.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Hebrew breath and Greek futility express the limitations of human thought. Neither column silently substitutes wise people for humans from a later quotation.
Verse 94:12 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:12] Happy the man You discipline, Yah,
whom You teach from Your instruction,
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:12] Happy the person You discipline, Lord,
whom You teach from Your law,
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: The blessing on divine instruction agrees; Hebrew torah and Greek nomos retain their instructional and legal ranges.
Verse 94:13 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:13] to grant him quiet from evil days,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:13] to soothe him from evil days,
until a pit is dug for the sinner.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Rest or soothing amid evil days agrees; wicked and sinner distinguish the targets of judgment.
Verse 94:14 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:14] For YHWH will not abandon His people,
nor forsake His inheritance.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:14] For the Lord will not reject His people,
nor abandon His inheritance,
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both promise fidelity to the people and inheritance; rejection and abandonment differ slightly.
Verse 94:15 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:15] For judgment will return to righteousness,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:15] until righteousness returns to judgment,
and all the upright in heart cling to it. Diapsalma.
Classification & Notes
Divergent. Text: Hebrew judgment returns to righteousness; Greek reverses their grammatical roles and makes the clause an until continuation. Greek adds the performance marker. Hebrew after it is rendered follow it, with an implicit verb; Greek expressly describes those attached to righteousness.
Verse 94:16 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:16] Who will rise for me against evildoers?
Who will take a stand for me against workers of evil?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:16] Who will rise for me against evildoers,
or who will stand beside me against workers of lawlessness?
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: The plea for an ally agrees; Greek explicitly evokes standing alongside the speaker.
Verse 94:17 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:17] Had YHWH not been my help,
my soul would soon have dwelt in silence.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:17] Had the Lord not helped me,
my soul would almost have sojourned in Hades.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew silence becomes explicit Greek Hades. The threatened death is not assigned a more specific postmortem condition absent from either line.
Verse 94:18 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:18] When I said, My foot is slipping,
Your steadfast love, YHWH, supported me.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:18] If I said, My foot has been shaken,
Your mercy, Lord, helps me.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both connect a threatened fall with divine aid, while the verbal presentation and covenantal vocabulary differ.
Verse 94:19 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:19] When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Your consolations delight my soul.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:19] Lord, amid the multitude of pains in my heart,
Your consolations loved my soul.
Classification & Notes
Divergent. Text: Greek adds Lord, names pains in the heart rather than anxious thoughts within, and says consolations loved rather than delighted the soul. The personification is retained rather than normalized to the Hebrew verb.
Verse 94:20 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:20] Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,
one that frames trouble by statute?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:20] Will a throne of lawlessness join You,
one that shapes toil by command?
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Both challenge oppressive authority’s claimed divine alliance; destruction and lawlessness and statute and command differ. The throne remains a figure of rule, without identifying a particular state.
Verse 94:21 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:21] They band together against a righteous person’s life
and condemn innocent blood.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:21] They will hunt a righteous person’s soul
and condemn innocent blood.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew banding together becomes Greek hunting. Both retain the judicial violence against innocence.
Verse 94:22 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:22] But YHWH became my high stronghold,
and my God the Rock of my refuge.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:22] The Lord became my refuge,
and my God the Helper of my hope.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew high stronghold and Rock become Greek refuge and Helper; refuge becomes hope in the final phrase.
Verse 94:23 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[94:23] He will return their evil upon them
and destroy them in their wickedness;
YHWH our God will destroy them.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[93:23] He will repay them their lawlessness,
and according to their wickedness
the Lord our God will obliterate them.
Classification & Notes
Divergent. Text: Hebrew repeats the destruction verb in two clauses; Greek has one. Evil and lawlessness and in versus according to their wickedness retain the source distinctions.