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For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David.

58 Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones?
    Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?
No, in your heart you plot injustice.
    You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.
The wicked go astray from the womb.
    They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
Their poison is like the poison of a snake,
    like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,
    which doesn’t listen to the voice of charmers,
    no matter how skillful the charmer may be.
Break their teeth, God, in their mouth.
    Break out the great teeth of the young lions, Yahweh.
Let them vanish like water that flows away.
    When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.
Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away,
    like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.
Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns,
    he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance.
    He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11 so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous.
    Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”

Psalm 58

A Cry against Injustice

For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[a] A Davidic Miktam.

Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones?[b]
Do you judge people fairly?(A)
No, you practice injustice in your hearts;
with your hands you weigh out violence in the land.(B)

The wicked go astray from the womb;
liars err from birth.(C)
They have venom like the venom of a snake,
like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears,(D)
that does not listen to the sound of the charmers
who skillfully weave spells.(E)

God, knock the teeth out of their mouths;
Lord, tear out the young lions’ fangs.(F)
They will vanish like water that flows by;
they will aim their useless arrows.[c][d](G)
Like a slug that moves along in slime,
like a woman’s miscarried child,
they will not see the sun.(H)

Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether green or burning—
He will sweep them away.[e](I)
10 The righteous one will rejoice
when he sees the retribution;(J)
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.(K)
11 Then people will say,
“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!
There is a God who judges on earth!”(L)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 58:1 Possibly a tune
  2. Psalm 58:1 Or Can you really speak righteousness in silence?
  3. Psalm 58:7 Or their arrows as if they were circumcised; Hb obscure
  4. Psalm 58:7 Or they wither like trampled grass
  5. Psalm 58:9 Or thorns, He will sweep it away, whether raw or cooking, or thorns, He will sweep him away alive in fury