Psalm 58
Legacy Standard Bible
There Is a God Who Judges on Earth
For the choir director. [a]Al-tashheth. Of David. A [b]Mikhtam.
58 Do you indeed [c]speak righteousness, O [d]gods?
Do you (A)judge [e]with equity, O sons of men?
2 No, in heart you (B)work unrighteousness;
On earth you [f](C)prepare a path for the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged (D)from the womb;
These who speak falsehood (E)wander in error from [g]birth.
4 They have venom like the (F)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it (G)does not hear the voice of [h](H)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 O God, (I)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Yahweh.
7 Let them (J)flow away like water that runs off;
When he [i](K)aims his arrows, let them be as [j]headless shafts.
8 Let them be as a snail which [k]melts away as it goes along,
Like the (L)miscarriages of a woman which never behold the sun.
9 Before your (M)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (N)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the living and the burning alike.
10 The (O)righteous will be glad when he (P)beholds the vengeance;
He will (Q)wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And men will say, “Surely there is a [l](R)reward for the righteous;
Surely there is a God who (S)judges [m]on earth!”
Footnotes
- Psalm 58 Title Lit Do Not Destroy
- Psalm 58 Title Possibly Epigrammatic Poem, Atonement Psalm
- Psalm 58:1 Or speak righteousness in silence
- Psalm 58:1 Or mighty ones, judges
- Psalm 58:1 Or uprightly the sons of men
- Psalm 58:2 Lit make level
- Psalm 58:3 Lit stomach
- Psalm 58:5 Or whisperers
- Psalm 58:7 Lit bends
- Psalm 58:7 Lit though they were cut off
- Psalm 58:8 Secretes slime
- Psalm 58:11 Lit fruit
- Psalm 58:11 Or in
Psalm 58
International Standard Version
To the Director: A special Davidic psalm[a] to the tune of[b] “Do Not Destroy”.
A Prayer for Justice
58 How is it that by remaining silent you can speak righteously?
How can you judge people fairly?
2 As a matter of fact, in your heart you plan iniquities!
In the land your hands are violent!
3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
they go astray, telling lies even from birth.
4 Their venom is like a poisonous snake;
even like a deaf serpent that shuts its ears,
5 refusing to hear the voice of the snake charmer,
the cunning enchanter.
6 God, shatter their teeth in their mouths;
Lord, break the fangs of the young lions!
7 May they flow away like rain water that runs off,
may they become like someone who shoots broken arrows.
8 May they be like a snail that dries up as it crawls;
like a woman’s stillborn baby, who never saw the sun.
9 Before your clay pots are placed on a fire of burning[c] thorns—
whether green or ablaze—
wrath will sweep them away like a storm.
10 The righteous person will rejoice when he sees your[d] vengeance;
when he washes his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 A person will say,
“Certainly, the righteous are rewarded;
certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 58:1 The Heb. reads miktam
- Psalm 58:1 Lit. David according to
- Psalm 58:9 The Heb. lacks a fire of burning
- Psalm 58:10 The Heb. lacks your
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