Psalms 58
1 [For the Chief Musician. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." A poem by David.] Do you rulers indeed speak righteousness? Do you judge blamelessly, you descendants of Adam?
To the Overseer. — 'Destroy not.' — A secret treasure, by David. Is it true, O dumb one, righteously ye speak? Uprightly ye judge, O sons of men?
2 No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.
Even in heart ye work iniquities, In the land the violence of your hands ye ponder.
3 The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
The wicked have been estranged from the womb, They have erred from the belly, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; like a deaf viper that stops its ear,
Their poison [is] as poison of a serpent, As a deaf asp shutting its ear,
5 which doesn't listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.
Which hearkeneth not to the voice of whisperers, A charmer of charms most skilful.
6 Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, YHWH.
O God, break their teeth in their mouth, The jaw-teeth of young lions break down, O Jehovah.
7 Let them vanish as water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.
They are melted as waters, They go up and down for themselves, His arrow proceedeth as they cut themselves off.
8 Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.
As a snail that melteth he goeth on, [As] an untimely birth of a woman, They have not seen the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.
Before your pots discern the bramble, As well the raw as the heated He whirleth away.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
The righteous rejoiceth that he hath seen vengeance, His steps he washeth 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."
And man saith: 'Surely fruit [is] for the righteous: Surely there is a God judging in the earth!'
