Psalms 58
1 To the Chief Musician. "Do not Destroy." A precious Psalm, of David. Are ye, indeed, silent [when] righteousness, ye should speak? When, with equity, ye should judge, O ye sons of men?
For the end. Destroy not: by David, for a memorial. If ye do indeed speak righteousness, [then] do ye judge rightly, ye sons of men.
2 Aye! ye all do work, perversity, —Throughout the land, your hands, weigh out, violence!
For ye work iniquities in [your] hearts in the earth: your hands plot unrighteousness.
3 Lawless men have been estranged from birth, They have gone astray from their nativity, speaking falsehood;
Sinners have gone astray from the womb: they go astray from the belly: they speak lies.
4 Their poison, is like unto the poison of a serpent, Like the deaf adder, that stoppeth his ear;
Their venom is like [that] of a serpent; as [that] of a deaf asp, and that stops her ears;
5 That will not hearken to the voice of whisperers, Though the wise one try to bind him with spells.
which will not hear the voice of charmers, nor [heed] the charm prepared skillfully by the wise.
6 O God! break away their teeth in their mouth, The biters of the young lions, knock thou out, O Yahweh!
God has crushed their teeth in their mouth: God has broken the cheek-teeth of the lions.
7 Let such men flow away like waters that disperse themselves: He prepareth his arrow, Like [grass] let them be cut down:
They shall utterly pass away like water running through: he shall bend his bow till they shall fail.
8 Like a snail, which melteth away as it goeth, An untimely birth of a woman, which hath not seen the sun:
They shall be destroyed as melted wax: the fire has fallen and they have not seen the sun.
9 Before your kettles can perceive the [kindled] bramble, Be he green or be he withered, he shall be swept away.
Before your thorns feel the white thorn, he shall swallow you up as living, as in his wrath.
10 The righteous man will rejoice when he hath seen an avenging, His feet, will he bathe in the blood of the lawless one: —
The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance of the ungodly: he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner.
11 So that a son of earth may say—Surely there is fruit for the righteous man! Surely there are gods who judge in the earth!
And a man shall say, Verily then there is a reward for the righteous: verily there is a God that judges them in the earth.
