Psalm 58
English Standard Version
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?
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands (C)deal out violence on earth.
3 The wicked are (D)estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4 (E)They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it (F)does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
6 O God, (G)break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 Let them (H)vanish like water that runs away;
when he (I)aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
8 Let them be like the snail (J)that dissolves into slime,
like (K)the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9 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
- Psalm 58:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 58:1 Or you mighty lords (by revocalization; Hebrew in silence)
- Psalm 58:9 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
Psalm 58
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 58
Prayer for Vengeance
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam.
1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
Do you judge people fairly?(A)
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.(B)
3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
they err from their birth, speaking lies.(C)
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,(D)
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.(E)
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!(F)
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away;
like grass let them be trodden down[a] and wither.(G)
8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.(H)
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!(I)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.