Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.

For the music director; set to [a]Al-tashheth. A [b]Mikhtam of David.

58 Do you indeed [c]speak righteousness, you [d]gods?
Do you (A)judge [e]fairly, you sons of mankind?
No, in heart you (B)practice injustice;
On earth you (C)clear a way for the violence of your hands.
The wicked have turned away (D)from the womb;
These who speak lies (E)go astray from [f]birth.
They have venom like the (F)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
So that it (G)does not hear the voice of [g](H)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.

God, (I)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord.
May they (J)flow away like water that runs off;
When he [h](K)aims his arrows, may they be as [i]headless shafts.
May they be like a snail which goes along in slime,
Like the (L)miscarriage of a woman that never sees the sun.
Before your (M)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (N)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the [j]green and the burning alike.

10 The (O)righteous will rejoice when he (P)sees vengeance;
He will (Q)wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And people will say, “There certainly is [k](R)a reward for the righteous;
There certainly is a God who (S)judges on the earth!”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 58 Title Lit Do Not Destroy
  2. Psalm 58 Title Possibly Epigrammatic Poem or Atonement Psalm
  3. Psalm 58:1 Another reading is speak righteousness in silence
  4. Psalm 58:1 Or mighty ones; or judges
  5. Psalm 58:1 Or mankind fairly?
  6. Psalm 58:3 Lit the womb
  7. Psalm 58:5 Or whisperers
  8. Psalm 58:7 Lit bends
  9. Psalm 58:7 Lit though they were cut off
  10. Psalm 58:9 Lit living
  11. Psalm 58:11 Lit fruit

Psalm 58[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[b]

Do you rulers indeed speak justly?(A)
    Do you judge people with equity?
No, in your heart you devise injustice,(B)
    and your hands mete out violence on the earth.(C)

Even from birth the wicked go astray;
    from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
Their venom is like the venom of a snake,(D)
    like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
that will not heed(E) the tune of the charmer,(F)
    however skillful the enchanter may be.

Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;(G)
    Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions!(H)
Let them vanish like water that flows away;(I)
    when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.(J)
May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,(K)
    like a stillborn child(L) that never sees the sun.

Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns(M)
    whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.[c](N)
10 The righteous will be glad(O) when they are avenged,(P)
    when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.(Q)
11 Then people will say,
    “Surely the righteous still are rewarded;(R)
    surely there is a God who judges the earth.”(S)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 58:1 In Hebrew texts 58:1-11 is numbered 58:2-12.
  2. Psalm 58:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  3. Psalm 58:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.