Psalm 58
Good News Translation
A Prayer for God to Punish the Wicked[a]
58 Do you rulers[b] ever give a just decision?
Do you judge everyone fairly?
2 No! You think only of the evil you can do,
and commit crimes of violence in the land.
3 Evildoers go wrong all their lives;
they tell lies from the day they are born.
4 They are full of poison like snakes;
they stop up their ears like a deaf cobra,
5 which does not hear the voice of the snake charmer,
or the chant of the clever magician.
6 Break the teeth of these fierce lions, O God.
7 May they disappear like water draining away;
may they be crushed like weeds on a path.[c]
8 May they be like snails that dissolve into slime;
may they be like a baby born dead that never sees the light.
9 Before they know it, they are cut down like weeds;
in his fierce anger God will blow them away
while they are still living.[d]
10 The righteous will be glad when they see sinners punished;
they will wade through the blood of the wicked.
11 People will say, “The righteous are indeed rewarded;
there is indeed a God who judges the world.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 58:1 HEBREW TITLE: A psalm by David.
- Psalm 58:1 rulers; or gods.
- Psalm 58:7 Probable text may … path; Hebrew unclear.
- Psalm 58:9 Verse 9 in Hebrew is unclear.
Psalm 58
Expanded Bible
Unfair Judges
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam [C perhaps “inscription”] of David.
58 Do you ·rulers [or silent ones; or gods; C sometimes spiritual beings such as angels are called “gods” in the OT; 82:1] really say what is ·right [righteous]?
Do you judge people ·fairly [with integrity]?
2 No, in your heart you plan evil;
you ·think up [dispense] ·violent crimes [violence] in the land.
3 From ·birth [L the womb], evil people ·turn away [go astray] from God;
they wander off and tell lies ·as soon as they are born [L from the belly; C another word for the womb; 51:5].
4 They ·are [L have poison/venom] like ·poisonous [venomous] snakes,
like deaf cobras that ·stop [plug] up their ears
5 so they cannot hear the music of the snake charmer
no matter how ·well he plays [wisely/skillfully he enchants].
6 God, break the teeth in their mouths!
·Tear out [Uproot] the fangs of those lions, Lord!
7 Let them ·disappear [vanish] like water that flows away.
Let them ·be cut short like a broken arrow [L draw their arrows like they are cut off].
8 Let them be like ·snails [slugs] that ·melt [dissolve] as they move [C snails leave a slime as they move].
Let them be like a ·child born dead [stillborn] who never saw the sun.
9 His anger will blow them away alive
faster than burning thorns can heat a pot [C likely a reference to quick retribution].
10 ·Good [Righteous] people will be glad when they see ·him get even [vengeance].
They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked [Is. 63:1–6; Rev. 14:19–20; 19:13–14].
11 Then people will say,
“There really are ·rewards [fruits] for ·doing what is right [the righteous].
There really is a God who judges the ·world [earth; land].”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.