Psalm 58

PSALM 58

Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.

For the choir director; set to ^†Al-tashheth. A ^•Mikhtam of David.

¹Do you indeed ¹speak righteousness, O ²gods?

Do you ^ajudge ³uprightly, O sons of men?

²No, in heart you ^awork unrighteousness;

On earth you ^bweigh out the violence of your hands.

³The wicked are estranged ^afrom the womb;

These who speak lies ^bgo astray from ¹birth.

⁴They have venom like the ^avenom of a serpent;

Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,

⁵So that it ^adoes not hear the voice of ^1bcharmers,

Or a skillful caster of spells.

⁶O God, ^ashatter their teeth in their mouth;

Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.

⁷Let them ^aflow away like water that runs off;

When he ^1baims his arrows, let them be as ²headless shafts.

⁸Let them be as a snail which ¹melts away as it goes along,

Like the ^amiscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.

⁹Before your ^apots can feel the fire of thorns

He will ^bsweep them away with a whirlwind, the ¹green and the burning alike.

¹⁰The ^arighteous will rejoice when he ^bsees the vengeance;

He will ^cwash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹And men will say, “Surely there is a ^1areward for the righteous;

Surely there is a God who ^bjudges ²on earth!”