Psalms 58
1 Unto the end. May you not destroy. Of David, with the inscription of a title. If, truly and certainly, you speak justice, then judge what is right, you sons of men.
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?
2 For, even in your heart, you work iniquity. Your hands construct injustice on the earth.
No, in your hearts you devise injustice; with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.
3 Sinners have become foreigners from the womb; they have gone astray from conception. They have been speaking falsehoods.
The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth.
4 Their fury is similar to that of a serpent; it is like a deaf asp, who even blocks her ears,
Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,
5 who will not listen to the voice of charmers, nor even to the enchanter who chants wisely.
refusing to hear the tune of the charmer who skillfully weaves his spell.
6 God will crush their teeth within their own mouth. The Lord will break the molars of the lions.
O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.
7 They will come to nothing, like water flowing away. He has aimed his bow, while they are being weakened.
May they vanish like water that runs off; when they draw the bow, may their arrows be blunted.
8 Like wax that flows, they will be carried away. Fire has fallen upon them, and they will not see the sun.
Like a slug that dissolves in its slime, like a woman’s stillborn child, may they never see the sun.
9 Before your thorns could know the brier, he consumes them alive, as if in rage.
Before your pots can feel the burning thorns— whether green or dry— He will sweep them away.
10 The just one will rejoice when he sees vindication. He will wash his hands in the blood of the sinner.
The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And man will say, “If the just one is fruitful, then, truly, there is a God judging them on earth.”
Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”
