Psalms 58
1 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?
`In Ebreu thus, To victorie; `lese thou not the swete song, ether the semely salm, of Dauid. `In Jeroms translacioun thus, To the ouercomere, that thou lese not Dauid, meke and simple. Forsothe if ye speken riytfulnesse verili; ye sones of men, deme riytfuli.
2 Even in heart ye work iniquities, In the land the violence of your hands ye ponder.
For in herte ye worchen wickidnesse in erthe; youre hondis maken redi vnriytfulnessis.
3 The wicked have been estranged from the womb, They have erred from the belly, speaking lies.
Synneris weren maad aliens fro the wombe; thei erriden fro the wombe, thei spaken false thingis.
4 Their poison [is] as poison of a serpent, As a deaf asp shutting its ear,
Woodnesse is to hem, bi the licnesse of a serpent; as of a deef snake, and stoppynge hise eeris.
5 Which hearkeneth not to the voice of whisperers, A charmer of charms most skilful.
Which schal not here the vois of charmeris; and of a venym makere charmynge wiseli.
6 O God, break their teeth in their mouth, The jaw-teeth of young lions break down, O Jehovah.
God schal al to-breke the teeth of hem in her mouth; the Lord schal breke togidere the greet teeth of liouns.
7 They are melted as waters, They go up and down for themselves, His arrow proceedeth as they cut themselves off.
Thei schulen come to nouyt, as water rennynge awei; he bente his bouwe, til thei ben maad sijk.
8 As a snail that melteth he goeth on, [As] an untimely birth of a woman, They have not seen the sun.
As wexe that fletith awei, thei schulen be takun awei; fier felle aboue, and thei siyen not the sunne.
9 Before your pots discern the bramble, As well the raw as the heated He whirleth away.
Bifore that youre thornes vndurstoden the ramne; he swolewith hem so in ire, as lyuynge men.
10 The righteous rejoiceth that he hath seen vengeance, His steps he washeth in the blood of the wicked.
The iust man schal be glad, whanne he schal se veniaunce; he schal waische hise hondis in the blood of a synner.
11 And man saith: 'Surely fruit [is] for the righteous: Surely there is a God judging in the earth!'
And a man schal seie treuli, For fruyt is to a iust man; treuli God is demynge hem in erthe.
