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Psalm 58:8-10
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 58:8-10
New Catholic Bible
8 [a]Cause them to vanish like water that drains off;
make them wither like grass that is trampled.[b]
9 Let them melt like a snail[c] that oozes into slime
or like a stillborn child that will never see the sun.
10 Before they sprout thorns[d] like brambles or thistles,
may your whirlwind sweep them away.
Footnotes
- Psalm 58:8 See notes on Pss 58; 35.
- Psalm 58:8 Make them wither like grass that is trampled: the meaning of the Hebrew is unclear. Another translation likens the psalmist’s foes to archers who shoot blunted arrows. “When they ready the bow, let their arrows be blunted.”
- Psalm 58:9 Snail: the ancients believed that snails dried up in the sun and evaporated.
- Psalm 58:10 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain. Another translation given is: “Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns— / whether they be green or dry— / the wicked will be swept away.” This accords with the fact that twigs from wild bushes (thorns) were used to start quick fires for cooking (see Ps 118:12; Eccl 7:6).
