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58 掌權者啊!你們真的講公義嗎(本句或譯:“你們默然不語,真的講公義嗎”)?

你們真的按照正直審判世人嗎?

不是的,你們心中策劃奸惡;

你們的手在地上施行強暴(本句原文作“你們在地上稱出你們手中的強暴”)。

惡人一出母胎,就走上歧路;

他們一離母腹,就走偏了路,常說謊話。

他們的毒氣好像蛇的毒氣,

又像耳朵塞住的聾虺,

不聽行法術者的聲音,

就是極靈的咒語,也是無效。

 神啊!求你敲掉他們口中的牙齒;

耶和華啊!求你打斷少壯獅子的顎骨。

願他們像流水般消逝;

願他們射箭的時候,箭頭折斷(本句原文意義不甚明確)。

願他們像蝸牛般蠕行消融,

如同婦人流產未見天日的胎兒。

你們用荊棘燒火,鍋還未熱,

他要用旋風把燒著的和未燒著的一起颳去。

10 義人看見仇敵遭報就歡喜;

他要在惡人的血中洗自己的腳。

11 因此,人必說:“義人果然有善報;

在世上確有一位施行審判的 神。”

Unfair Judges

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam of David.

58 Do you rulers really say what is right?
    Do you judge people fairly?
No, in your heart you plan evil;
    you think up violent crimes in the land.
From birth, evil people turn away from God;
    they wander off and tell lies as soon as they are born.
They are like poisonous snakes,
    like deaf cobras that stop up their ears
so they cannot hear the music of the snake charmer
    no matter how well he plays.

God, break the teeth in their mouths!
    Tear out the fangs of those lions, Lord!
Let them disappear like water that flows away.
    Let them be cut short like a broken arrow.
Let them be like snails that melt as they move.
    Let them be like a child born dead who never saw the sun.
His anger will blow them away alive
    faster than burning thorns can heat a pot.
10 Good people will be glad when they see him get even.
    They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then people will say,
    “There really are rewards for doing what is right.
    There really is a God who judges the world.”

God Really Judges

Psalm 58

For the music director: “Do Not Destroy,” a Michtam of David.
Do you really speak of justice, O “gods”?
Do you judge with fairness, sons of man?
No, in heart you devise injustice.
Your hands weigh out violence on earth.
The wicked are strangers from the womb.
Speaking lies, they go astray from birth.
Their venom is like a serpent’s venom,
like a deaf cobra shutting its ear—
not hearing the voice of charmers,
    or a cunning spell binder.
O God, break their teeth in their mouths.
Tear out the fangs of young lions, Adonai.
Let them flow away like water that runs off.
When he bends his bow, let the arrows be cut off.
Like a slug melting away as it slithers,
like a woman’s miscarriage,
may they never see the sun.
10 Even before your pots can feel a thorn
—whether alive or ablaze—
He will sweep the wicked away.
11 The righteous one will rejoice
when he beholds vengeance,
when he washes his feet in the blood of the wicked.
12 Then men will say:
“There really is a reward for the righteous.
There really is a God who judges on earth!”

58 1-2 Is this any way to run a country?
    Is there an honest politician in the house?
Behind the scenes you weave webs of deceit,
    behind closed doors you make deals with demons.

3-5 The wicked crawl from the wrong side of the cradle;
    their first words out of the womb are lies.
Poison, lethal rattlesnake poison,
    drips from their forked tongues—
Deaf to threats, deaf to charm,
    decades of wax built up in their ears.

6-9 God, smash their teeth to bits,
    leave them toothless tigers.
Let their lives be buckets of water spilled,
    all that’s left, a damp stain in the sand.
Let them be trampled grass
    worn smooth by the traffic.
Let them dissolve into snail slime,
    be a miscarried fetus that never sees sunlight.
Before what they cook up is half-done, God,
    throw it out with the garbage!

10-11 The righteous will call up their friends
    when they see the wicked get their reward,
Serve up their blood in goblets
    as they toast one another,
Everyone cheering, “It’s worth it to play by the rules!
    God’s handing out trophies and tending the earth!”

Psalm 58[a]

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

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

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

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

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

Footnotes

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