Psalms 58
1 Do ye indeed speak righteousness in silence? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
`In Ebreu thus, To victorie; `lese thou not the swete song, ether the semely salm, of Dauid. `In Jeroms translacioun thus, To the ouercomere, that thou lese not Dauid, meke and simple. Forsothe if ye speken riytfulnesse verili; ye sones of men, deme riytfuli.
2 No! In heart ye work wickedness. Ye weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
For in herte ye worchen wickidnesse in erthe; youre hondis maken redi vnriytfulnessis.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
Synneris weren maad aliens fro the wombe; thei erriden fro the wombe, thei spaken false thingis.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops her ear,
Woodnesse is to hem, bi the licnesse of a serpent; as of a deef snake, and stoppynge hise eeris.
5 which hearkens not to the voice of charmers, charming ever so wisely.
Which schal not here the vois of charmeris; and of a venym makere charmynge wiseli.
6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Jehovah.
God schal al to-breke the teeth of hem in her mouth; the Lord schal breke togidere the greet teeth of liouns.
7 Let them melt away as water that runs with haste. When he aims his arrows, let them be as though they were cut off,
Thei schulen come to nouyt, as water rennynge awei; he bente his bouwe, til thei ben maad sijk.
8 as a snail which melts and passes away, as the untimely birth of a woman, that has not seen the sun.
As wexe that fletith awei, thei schulen be takun awei; fier felle aboue, and thei siyen not the sunne.
9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, he will take them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.
Bifore that youre thornes vndurstoden the ramne; he swolewith hem so in ire, as lyuynge men.
10 A righteous man shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
The iust man schal be glad, whanne he schal se veniaunce; he schal waische hise hondis in the blood of a synner.
11 so that men shall say, Truly there is a reward for the righteous man. Truly there is a God who judges in the earth.
And a man schal seie treuli, For fruyt is to a iust man; treuli God is demynge hem in erthe.
