Psalm 58
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.
1 Do you rulers indeed speak justly?
Do you judge uprightly among men?
2 No, in your heart you devise injustice,
and your hands mete out violence on the earth.
3 Even from birth the wicked go astray;
from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
5 that will not heed the tune of the charmer,
however skillful the enchanter may be.
6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;
tear out, O Lord, the fangs of the lions!
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away;
when they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted.
8 Like a slug melting away as it moves along,
like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel
the heat of the thorns—
whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.
10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,
when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then men will say,
“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
surely there is a God who judges the 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.”
