They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage.

PSALMS 94:5KJV
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Psalms 94:5 (KJV)

What does Psalms 94:5 mean?

Psalms 94:5 describes people who are violently harming God’s people and causing suffering to those who belong to Him. The verse is a cry to the LORD, pointing out the mistreatment and oppression of His chosen community.

In this psalm, the speaker is addressing God, highlighting the injustice faced by the people of Israel, who are called God’s “heritage.” The verse comes in the middle of a prayer asking God to notice and respond to the cruelty and oppression carried out by others against His people. The language is strong, showing both the pain of the victims and the seriousness of the wrongs being done.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 94:5

  • pieces (דַּכְּאוּ, dakkə’ū): This word means to crush or break in pieces, emphasizing the violence and destruction being inflicted on the people.
  • people (עַמְּךָ, ‘amməḵā): This refers specifically to God’s people, the nation of Israel, making the mistreatment personal and direct.
  • afflict (יְעַנּוּ, yə‘annū): This word carries the sense of causing suffering, humiliation, or oppression, not just physical pain but also emotional or social harm.
  • heritage (נַחֲלָתֶךָ, naḥălātəḵā): This term means inheritance or possession, highlighting that the people being harmed are not just any group, but those God has chosen as His own.

Why Psalms 94:5 matters

  • The verse clarifies that the suffering described is not random but directed specifically at those who belong to God, making the injustice more personal and urgent.
  • By calling Israel God’s “heritage,” the verse emphasizes the special relationship between God and His people, which makes their mistreatment a direct offense against Him.
  • This verse sets the stage for the psalm’s larger theme: a plea for God to notice injustice and act as a righteous judge in defense of the oppressed.

Where else these words appear

“pieces” Hebrew H1792 · used in 18 verses

  • Job 4:19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
  • Job 34:25 Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
  • Isaiah 19:10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

“afflict” Hebrew H6031 · used in 80 verses

  • Genesis 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
  • Judges 16:5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
  • Psalms 107:17 Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.