God Who Judges the Earth

To the choirmaster: according to (A)Do Not Destroy. A (B)Miktam[a] of David.

58 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?[b]
    Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
    your hands (C)deal out violence on earth.

The wicked are (D)estranged from the womb;
    they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
(E)They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
    like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
so that it (F)does not hear the voice of charmers
    or of the cunning enchanter.

O God, (G)break the teeth in their mouths;
    tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
Let them (H)vanish like water that runs away;
    when he (I)aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
Let them be like the snail (J)that dissolves into slime,
    like (K)the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of (L)thorns,
    whether green or ablaze, may he (M)sweep them away![c]

10 (N)The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
    he will (O)bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is (P)a reward for the righteous;
    surely there is a God who (Q)judges on earth.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 58:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 58:1 Or you mighty lords (by revocalization; Hebrew in silence)
  3. Psalm 58:9 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain

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?
As a matter of fact, in your heart you plan iniquities!
    In the land your hands are violent!

The wicked go astray from the womb;
    they go astray, telling lies even from birth.
Their venom is like a poisonous snake;
    even like a deaf serpent that shuts its ears,
refusing to hear the voice of the snake charmer,
    the cunning enchanter.

God, shatter their teeth in their mouths;
    Lord, break the fangs of the young lions!
May they flow away like rain water that runs off,
    may they become like someone who shoots broken arrows.
May they be like a snail that dries up as it crawls;
    like a woman’s stillborn baby, who never saw the sun.
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

  1. Psalm 58:1 The Heb. reads miktam
  2. Psalm 58:1 Lit. David according to
  3. Psalm 58:9 The Heb. lacks a fire of burning
  4. Psalm 58:10 The Heb. lacks your