Psalm 58

New International Version

Psalm 58^[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.^[b]

¹Do you rulers indeed speak justly?^(A)
Do you judge people with equity?
²No, in your heart you devise injustice,^(B)
and your hands mete out violence on the earth.^(C)

³Even from birth the wicked go astray;
    from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
⁴Their venom is like the venom of a snake,^(D)
    like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
⁵that will not heed^(E) the tune of the charmer,^(F)
    however skillful the enchanter may be.

⁶Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;^(G)
    Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions!^(H)
⁷Let them vanish like water that flows away;^(I)
    when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.^(J)
⁸May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,^(K)
    like a stillborn child^(L) that never sees the sun.

⁹Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns^(M)—
    whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.^[c]^(N)
¹⁰The righteous will be glad^(O) when they are avenged,^(P)
    when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.^(Q)
¹¹Then people will say,
    “Surely the righteous still are rewarded;^(R)
    surely there is a God who judges the earth.”^(S)

Footnotes

Psalm 58:1 In Hebrew texts 58:1-11 is numbered 58:2-12.
Psalm 58:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 58:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.

Jeremiah 3:1-14

New International Version

3 “If a man divorces^(A) his wife
    and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
    Would not the land be completely defiled?^(B)
But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers^(C)—
    would you now return to me?”^(D)
declares the Lord.
²“Look up to the barren heights^(E) and see.
    Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside^(F) you sat waiting for lovers,
    sat like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land^(G)
    with your prostitution^(H) and wickedness.
³Therefore the showers have been withheld,^(I)
    and no spring rains^(J) have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen^(K) look of a prostitute;
    you refuse to blush with shame.^(L)
⁴Have you not just called to me:
    ‘My Father,^(M) my friend from my youth,^(N)
⁵will you always be angry?^(O)
    Will your wrath continue forever?’
This is how you talk,
    but you do all the evil you can.”

Unfaithful Israel

⁶During the reign of King Josiah,^(P) the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless^(Q) Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree^(R) and has committed adultery^(S) there. ⁷I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister^(T) Judah saw it.^(U) ⁸I gave faithless Israel^(V) her certificate of divorce^(W) and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear;^(X) she also went out and committed adultery. ⁹Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land^(Y) and committed adultery^(Z) with stone^(AA) and wood.^(AB) ¹⁰In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return^(AC) to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,^(AD)” declares the Lord.^(AE)

¹¹The Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous^(AF) than unfaithful^(AG) Judah.^(AH) ¹²Go, proclaim this message toward the north:^(AI)

“‘Return,^(AJ) faithless^(AK) Israel,’ declares the Lord,
    ‘I will frown on you no longer,
for I am faithful,’^(AL) declares the Lord,
    ‘I will not be angry^(AM) forever.
¹³Only acknowledge^(AN) your guilt—
    you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods^(AO)
    under every spreading tree,^(AP)
    and have not obeyed^(AQ) me,’”
declares the Lord.

¹⁴“Return,^(AR) faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband.^(AS) I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.

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Titus 1:1-9

New International Version

1 Paul, a servant of God^(A) and an apostle^(B) of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth^(C) that leads to godliness^(D)— ²in the hope of eternal life,^(E) which God, who does not lie,^(F) promised before the beginning of time,^(G) ³and which now at his appointed season^(H) he has brought to light^(I) through the preaching entrusted to me^(J) by the command of God^(K) our Savior,^(L)

⁴To Titus,^(M) my true son^(N) in our common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.^(O)

Appointing Elders Who Love What Is Good^(P)

⁵The reason I left you in Crete^(Q) was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint^[a] elders^(R) in every town, as I directed you. ⁶An elder must be blameless,^(S) faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe^[b] and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. ⁷Since an overseer^(T) manages God’s household,^(U) he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.^(V) ⁸Rather, he must be hospitable,^(W) one who loves what is good,^(X) who is self-controlled,^(Y) upright, holy and disciplined. ⁹He must hold firmly^(Z) to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine^(AA) and refute those who oppose it.