Psalm 58:1–11

Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?

Do you judge the children of man uprightly?

No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;

your hands deal out violence on earth.

The wicked are estranged from the womb;

they go astray from birth, speaking lies.

They have venom like the venom of a serpent,

like the deaf adder that stops its ear,

so that it does not hear the voice of charmers

or of the cunning enchanter.

O God, break the teeth in their mouths;

tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!

Let them vanish like water that runs away;

when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.

Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,

like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.

Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,

whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!

The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;

he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;

surely there is a God who judges on earth.”

Do you rulers indeed speak justly?

Do you judge people with equity?

No, in your heart you devise injustice,

and your hands mete out violence on the earth.

Even from birth the wicked go astray;

from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.

Their venom is like the venom of a snake,

like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,

that will not heed the tune of the charmer,

however skillful the enchanter may be.

Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;

Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions!

Let them vanish like water that flows away;

when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.

May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,

like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.

Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—

whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.

The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,

when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.

Then people will say,

“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;

surely there is a God who judges the earth.”

Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones?

Do you judge people fairly?

No, you practice injustice in your hearts;

with your hands you weigh out violence in the land.

The wicked go astray from the womb;

liars wander about from birth.

They have venom like the venom of a snake,

like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears,

that does not listen to the sound of the charmers

who skillfully weave spells.

God, knock the teeth out of their mouths;

Lord, tear out the young lions’ fangs.

May they vanish like water that flows by;

may they aim their blunted arrows.

Like a slug that moves along in slime,

like a woman’s miscarried child,

may they not see the sun.

Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—

whether green or burning—

he will sweep them away.

The righteous one will rejoice

when he sees the retribution;

he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Then people will say,

“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!

There is a God who judges on earth!”

Justice—do you rulers know the meaning of the word?

Do you judge the people fairly?

No! You plot injustice in your hearts.

You spread violence throughout the land.

These wicked people are born sinners;

even from birth they have lied and gone their own way.

They spit venom like deadly snakes;

they are like cobras that refuse to listen,

ignoring the tunes of the snake charmers,

no matter how skillfully they play.

Break off their fangs, O God!

Smash the jaws of these lions, O Lord!

May they disappear like water into thirsty ground.

Make their weapons useless in their hands.

May they be like snails that dissolve into slime,

like a stillborn child who will never see the sun.

God will sweep them away, both young and old,

faster than a pot heats over burning thorns.

The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged.

They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.

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.”

Do you really speak what is right when silent?

Do you judge fairly the children of humankind?

No, in your heart you plan injustices;

in the land you weigh out the violence of your hands.

The wicked are estranged from the womb.

They go astray from the belly, speaking lies.

Their venom is like snake venom;

They are like a deaf viper that closes its ear

so that it does not hear the voice of charmers

or the skilled caster of spells.

O God, break their teeth in their mouth.

Break off the fangs of the young lions, O Yahweh.

Let them run away like water that runs off.

When he bends the bow, let his arrows be as though they were cut off.

Let them be like a snail that melts away as it goes;

like the stillborn of woman that do not see the sun.

Before your pots can feel the heat of a thornbush,

whether green or dry, he will sweep it away.

The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;

he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

And people will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous.

Surely there is a God who judges in the land.”

Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation?

Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?

Yea, in heart ye work wickedness;

Ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.

The wicked are estranged from the womb:

They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.

Their poison is like the poison of a serpent:

They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;

Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers,

Charming never so wisely.

Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth:

Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord.

Let them melt away as waters which run continually:

When he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.

As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away:

Like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.

Before your pots can feel the thorns,

He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.

The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance:

He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous:

Verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.