Psalm 58

1 Do ye indeed in silence speak righteousness? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?

2 Nay, in heart ye work wickedness; Ye weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.

3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear,

5 Which hearkeneth not to the voice of charmers, Charming never so wisely.

6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Jehovah.

7 Let them melt away as water that runneth apace: When he aimeth his arrows, let them be as though they were cut off.

8  Let them be as a snail which melteth and passeth away, Like the untimely birth of a woman, that hath not seen the sun.

9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, He will take them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.

10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;

11 So that men shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.

Psalm 58

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; a prayer3 of David.

1 Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions?
Do you judge people fairly?

2 No! You plan how to do what is unjust;
you deal out violence in the earth.

3 The wicked turn aside from birth;
liars go astray as soon as they are born.

4 Their venom is like that of a snake,
like a deaf serpent that does not hear,

5 that does not respond to the magicians,
or to a skilled snake-charmer.

6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths!
Smash the jawbones of the lions, O Lord!

7 Let them disappear like water that flows away!
Let them wither like grass!

8 Let them be like a snail that melts away as it moves along!
Let them be like stillborn babies that never see the sun!

9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots,
he will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat.

10 The godly will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

11 Then observers will say,
“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded!
Yes indeed, there is a God who judges in the earth!”