Why read Psalm 93?
Read Psalm 93 to ask for justice and find comfort in the face of oppression. It condemns harm done to vulnerable people and affirms that God sees, hears and supports those in distress.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
Psalm 93 opens the heart with the cry "God of revenges, the Lord, God of revenges hath...". It is one of the 23-verse psalms of the Thirteenth Kathisma, and it is said both at the services and in prayer at home — the Psalter being the constant companion of the Orthodox Christian.
The text of Psalm 93
1. God of revenges, the Lord, God of revenges hath spoken openly.
2. Lift up Thyself, Thou that judgest the earth; render the reward to the proud.
3. How long shall sinners, O Lord, how long shall sinners boast?
4. How long shall they utter and speak unrighteousness; shall all they that work iniquity speak so?
5. Thy people, O Lord, have they afflicted, and Thine inheritance have they vexed.
6. The widow and the fatherless have they slain, and the orphans have they murdered.
7. And they have said: "The Lord shall not see it, neither shall the God of Jacob understand it".
8. Understand now, ye senseless among the people, and ye fools, be wise at last!
9. He that planted the ear, shall He not hear? He that formed the eye, shall He not behold?
10. He that chasteneth the nations, shall He not reprove? He that teacheth man knowledge,
11. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men, that they are vain.
12. Blessed is the man whom Thou, O Lord, chastenest, and whom Thou teachest out of Thy law,
13. That Thou mayest give him rest from the days of evil, until the pit be digged for the sinner.
14. For the Lord will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake His inheritance,
15. Until righteousness return unto judgement, and all the upright in heart that hold fast to it.
16. Who will rise up with me against the mischief-makers, and who will stand with me against the workers of iniquity?
17. Unless the Lord had been my helper, my soul had almost sojourned in hell.
18. When I said: "My foot is moved", Thy mercy, O Lord, helped me.
19. O Lord, when my sorrows were multiplied within my heart, Thy comforts gladdened my soul.
20. The throne of iniquity shall have no fellowship with Thee, that frameth mischief by a statute.
21. They shall hunt the soul of the righteous, and innocent blood shall they condemn.
22. But the Lord is my refuge, and my God is the helper of my hope;
23. And the Lord our God shall render recompense to them according to their iniquity, and after their wickedness shall the Lord our God destroy them.
When Psalm 93 is read
- It belongs to the Thirteenth Kathisma; it is said in private prayer, especially for peace and understanding.
- At the end of each psalm, the tradition adds: "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
Neighbouring psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
