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Psalm 58

For the choir director; al tashcheth; a miktam by David.

Do you rulers really give fair verdicts?
    Do you judge Adam’s descendants fairly?
No, you invent new crimes on earth,
    and your hands spread violence.

Even inside the womb wicked people are strangers to God.
    From their birth liars go astray.
They have poisonous venom like snakes.
    They are like a deaf cobra that shuts its ears
        so that it cannot hear the voice of a snake charmer
            or of anyone trained to cast spells.

O Elohim, knock the teeth out of their mouths.
    Break the young lions’ teeth, O Yahweh.
Let them disappear like water that drains away.
    When they aim their bows, let their arrows miss the target.[a]
Let them become like a snail that leaves behind a slimy trail
    or like a stillborn child who never sees the sun.
Let God sweep them away
    faster than a cooking pot is heated by burning twigs.[b]

10 Righteous people will rejoice when they see God take revenge.
    They will wash their feet in the blood of wicked people.
11 Then people will say,
    “Righteous people certainly have a reward.
    There is an Elohim who judges on earth.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 58:7 Hebrew meaning of this sentence uncertain.
  2. Psalm 58:9 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

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.