Psalms 58
1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?
Do ye indeed speak righteousness in silence? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
2 No, in your hearts you devise injustice; with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.
No! In heart ye work wickedness. Ye weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth.
The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops her ear,
5 refusing to hear the tune of the charmer who skillfully weaves his spell.
which hearkens not to the voice of charmers, charming ever so wisely.
6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.
Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Jehovah.
7 May they vanish like water that runs off; when they draw the bow, may their arrows be blunted.
Let them melt away as water that runs with haste. When he aims his arrows, let them be as though they were cut off,
8 Like a slug that dissolves in its slime, like a woman’s stillborn child, may they never see the sun.
as a snail which melts and passes away, as the untimely birth of a woman, that has not seen the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the burning thorns— whether green or dry— He will sweep them away.
Before your pots can feel the thorns, he will take them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.
10 The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
A righteous man shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11 Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”
so that men shall say, Truly there is a reward for the righteous man. Truly there is a God who judges in the earth.
