Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

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Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
    and distort all that is right;(A)

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23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

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23 Your rulers are rebels,(A)
    partners with thieves;(B)
they all love bribes(C)
    and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
    the widow’s case does not come before them.(D)

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58 Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?

Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.

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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)

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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

15 He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord.

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15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent(A)
    the Lord detests them both.(B)

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19 Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.

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19 “Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner,(A) the fatherless or the widow.”(B)

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

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And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?

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Leaders and Prophets Rebuked

Then I said,

“Listen, you leaders(A) of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,

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Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

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Judgment Against Israel

“Hear this, you priests!
    Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
    This judgment(A) is against you:
You have been a snare(B) at Mizpah,
    a net(C) spread out on Tabor.

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28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

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28     and have grown fat(A) and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
    they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;(B)
    they do not defend the just cause of the poor.(C)

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15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:

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15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws(A) and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant,(B)

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16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

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16 “Go, assemble the elders(A) of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob(B)—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen(C) what has been done to you in Egypt.

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