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?
When you mighty men speak, you never say what is right; you never decide things about people justly [RHQ]!
2 No, in your hearts you devise injustice; with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.
No, in your inner beings you think only about doing what is wrong, and you commit violent crimes in this land [of Israel].
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth.
Wicked people do wrong things and tell lies from the time that they are born [DOU].
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,
God, show in the heavens how great you are! And show your glory to people all over the earth! What wicked people say [injures people like] the venom of a snake [MET]; They refuse to listen to good advice, [as though they were] cobras that were deaf [MET]!
5 refusing to hear the tune of the charmer who skillfully weaves his spell.
As a result, [like a snake that does not respond when] a charmer plays a flute or when someone sings magic songs, [they do not pay attention when others rebuke them].
6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.
God, as for these enemies who [want to attack me like] young lions, break their teeth!
7 May they vanish like water that runs off; when they draw the bow, may their arrows be blunted.
Cause them to disappear like water disappears [in dry ground]! Cause the arrows that they shoot to have no (heads/sharp points)!
8 Like a slug that dissolves in its slime, like a woman’s stillborn child, may they never see the sun.
Cause them to become like snails that disappear in the slime; cause them to be like babies that are born dead!
9 Before your pots can feel the burning thorns— whether green or dry— He will sweep them away.
Get rid of them [as fast as] thornbushes are blown away [after they are cut] (OR, [as fast as] a fire heats a pot over burning thorns).
10 The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
Righteous people will rejoice when they see wicked people being punished as they deserve; they will wash their feet in the blood of wicked people.
11 Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”
[Then] people will say, “It is true that there is a reward for righteous people; and there is indeed a God who judges people justly here on the earth!”
