Psalm 57–58

A Prayer for Help^+u

57 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,

because I come to you for safety.

In the shadow of your wings I find protection

until the raging storms are over.

²I call to God, the Most High,

to God, who supplies my every need.

³He will answer from heaven and save me;

he will defeat my oppressors.

God will show me his constant love and faithfulness.

⁴I am surrounded by enemies,

who are like lions hungry for human flesh.

Their teeth are like spears and arrows;

their tongues are like sharp swords.

⁵Show your greatness in the sky, O God,

and your glory over all the earth.

⁶My enemies have spread a net to catch me;

I am overcome with distress.

They dug a pit in my path,

but fell into it themselves.

⁷I have complete confidence, O God;

I will sing and praise you!

⁸Wake up, my soul!

Wake up, my harp and lyre!

I will wake up the sun.

⁹I will thank you, O Lord, among the nations.

I will praise you among the peoples.

¹⁰Your constant love reaches the heavens;

your faithfulness touches the skies.

¹¹Show your greatness in the sky, O God,

and your glory over all the earth.

A Prayer for God to Punish the Wicked^v

58 Do you rulers^w ever give a just decision?

Do you judge everyone fairly?

²No! You think only of the evil you can do,

and commit crimes of violence in the land.

³Evildoers go wrong all their lives;

they tell lies from the day they are born.

⁴They are full of poison like snakes;

they stop up their ears like a deaf cobra,

⁵which does not hear the voice of the snake charmer,

or the chant of the clever magician.

⁶Break the teeth of these fierce lions, O God.

⁷May they disappear like water draining away;

may they be crushed like weeds on a path.^x

⁸May they be like snails that dissolve into slime;

may they be like a baby born dead that never sees the light.

⁹Before they know it, they are cut down like weeds;

in his fierce anger God will blow them away

while they are still living.^y

¹⁰The righteous will be glad when they see sinners punished;

they will wade through the blood of the wicked.

¹¹People will say, “The righteous are indeed rewarded;

there is indeed a God who judges the world.”