Psalm 58
Psalm 58
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Do Not Destroy!”
1 Justice—do you rulerst know the meaning of the word?
Do you judge the people fairly?2 No! You plot injustice in your hearts.
You spread violence throughout the land.3 These wicked people are born sinners;
even from birth they have lied and gone their own way.4 They spit venom like deadly snakes;
they are like cobras that refuse to listen,5 ignoring the tunes of the snake charmers,
no matter how skillfully they play.6 Break off their fangs, O God!
Smash the jaws of these lions, O LORD!7 May they disappear like water into thirsty ground.
Make their weapons useless in their hands.t8 May they be like snails that dissolve into slime,
like a stillborn child who will never see the sun.9 God will sweep them away, both young and old,
faster than a pot heats over burning thorns.10 The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged.
They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.11 Then at last everyone will say,
“There truly is a reward for those who live for God;
surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.”
PSALMS 58
A Prayer //When All Goes Wrong
1 Do you mighty peoplet talk
only to oppose justice?t
Don't you ever judge fairly?
2 You are always planning evil,
and you are brutal.
3 You have done wrong and lied
from the day you were born.
4 Your words spread poison
like the bite of a cobra
5 that refuses to listen
to the snake charmer.
6 My enemies are fierce
as lions, [Lord] God!
Shatter their teeth.
Snatch out their fangs.
7 Make them disappear
like leaking water,
and make their arrows miss.
8 Let them dry up like snails
or be like a child that dies
before seeing the sun.
9 Wipe them out quicker
than a pot can be heated
by setting thorns on fire.t
10 Good people will be glad
when they see the wicked
getting what they deserve,
and they will wash their feet
in their enemies' blood.
11 Everyone will say, “It's true!
Good people are rewarded.
God does indeed rule the earth
with justice.”
