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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Psalms 58: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
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: See the note at Psalm 57.
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 rule the earth
with justice.”
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012