Psalms 58
58
The Dethroning of Unjust Rulers
1For the leader. Do not destroy.#Do not destroy: probably the title of the melody to which the Psalm was to be sung. A miktam of David.
I
2Do you indeed pronounce justice, O gods;#Gods: the Bible sometimes understands pagan gods to be lesser divine beings who are assigned by Israel’s God to rule the foreign nations. Here they are accused of injustice, permitting the human judges under their patronage to abuse the righteous, cf. Ps 82.
do you judge fairly you children of Adam?#Ps 82:2; Dt 16:19.
3No, you freely engage in crime;
your hands dispense violence to the earth.
II
4The wicked have been corrupt since birth;
liars from the womb, they have gone astray.
5#The image is that of a poisonous snake that is controlled by the voice or piping of its trainer.Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like that of a serpent stopping its ears,#Ps 64:4; 140:3; Rom 3:13.
6So as not to hear the voice of the charmer
or the enchanter with cunning spells.
III
7O God, smash the teeth in their mouths;
break the fangs of these lions, Lord!#Ps 3:7.
8Make them vanish like water flowing away;#Wis 16:29.
trodden down, let them wither like grass.#Ps 37:2.
9Let them dissolve like a snail that oozes away,#A snail that oozes away: empty shells suggested to ancients that snails melted away as they left a slimy trail.
like an untimely birth that never sees the sun.#Jb 3:16.
10Suddenly, like brambles or thistles,
have the whirlwind snatch them away.#Jb 21:18; Hos 13:3; Na 1:10.
11Then the just shall rejoice to see the vengeance
and bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.#Ps 68:24; Is 63:1–6.
12Then people will say:
“Truly there is a reward for the just;
there is a God who is judge on earth!”
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Psalms 58
58
The Just Judgment of the Wicked
To the Chief Musician. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David.
1Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones?
Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
2No, in heart you work wickedness;
You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
3#(Ps. 53:3; Is. 48:8)The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4#Eccl. 10:11Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5Which will not #Jer. 8:17heed the voice of charmers,
Charming ever so skillfully.
6#Job 4:10Break their teeth in their mouth, O God!
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7#Josh. 2:11; 7:5; Ps. 112:10; Is. 13:7; Ezek. 21:7Let them flow away as waters which run continually;
When he bends his bow,
Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
8Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes,
#Job 3:16Like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
9Before your #Ps. 118:12; Eccl. 7:6pots can feel the burning thorns,
He shall take them away #Job 27:21; Prov. 10:25as with a whirlwind,
As in His living and burning wrath.
10The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the #(Deut. 32:43); Jer. 11:20vengeance;
#Ps. 68:23He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11#Ps. 92:15; Prov. 11:18; (2 Cor. 5:10)So that men will say,
“Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely He is God who #Ps. 50:6; 75:7judges in the earth.”
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.