Psalms 58
58
(A special psalm by David for the music leader. To the tune “Don't Destroy.”#Psalm 58 Don't Destroy: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.)
A Prayer When All Goes Wrong
1Do you mighty people#58.1 mighty people: Or “mighty rulers” or “mighty gods.” talk
only to oppose justice?#58.1 Do … justice: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Don't you ever judge fairly?
2You are always planning evil,
and you are brutal.
3You have done wrong and lied
from the day you were born.
4Your words spread poison
like the bite of a cobra
5that refuses to listen
to the snake charmer.
6My enemies are fierce
as lions, Lord God!
Shatter their teeth.
Snatch out their fangs.
7Make them disappear
like leaking water,
and make their arrows miss.
8Let them dry up like snails
or be like a child that dies
before seeing the sun.
9Wipe them out quicker
than a pot can be heated
by setting thorns on fire.#58.9 Wipe … fire: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
10Good people will be glad
when they see the wicked
getting what they deserve,
and they will wash their feet
in their enemies' blood.
11Everyone will say, “It's true!
Good people are rewarded.
God does indeed rule the earth
with justice.”
Currently Selected:
Psalms 58: CEV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Psalm 58
58
God Who Judges the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to #See Ps. 57, title Do Not Destroy. A #See Ps. 16, titleMiktam#58:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term of David.
1Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?#58:1 Or you mighty lords (by revocalization; Hebrew in silence)
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
2No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands #[Ps. 94:20]deal out violence on earth.
3The wicked are #Ps. 51:5; Isa. 48:8estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4 #
Ps. 140:3; [Deut. 32:33] They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5so that it #Jer. 8:17does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
6O God, #Ps. 3:7; Job 4:10; 29:17break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7Let them #Ps. 112:10; Josh. 7:5 vanish like water that runs away;
when he #Ps. 64:3aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
8Let them be like the snail #[See ver. 7 above] that dissolves into slime,
like #See Job 3:16the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of #Ps. 118:12; Eccles. 7:6 thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he #[Job 27:21; See Prov. 10:25]sweep them away!#58:9 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
10 #
Deut. 32:43; See Job 22:19 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will #Ps. 68:23bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11Mankind will say, “Surely there is #Isa. 3:10 a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who #Ps. 67:4; 94:2; Gen. 18:25; Job 19:29; Eccles. 12:14judges on earth.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Sign up to receive news and updates about the ESV: