Psalm 58
The Dethroning of Unjust Rulers
1 For the leader. Do not destroy. A miktam of David.
I
2 Do you indeed pronounce justice, O gods;
do you judge fairly you children of Adam?(A)
3 No, you freely engage in crime;
your hands dispense violence to the earth.
II
4 The wicked have been corrupt since birth;
liars from the womb, they have gone astray.
5 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like that of a serpent stopping its ears,(B)
6 So as not to hear the voice of the charmer
or the enchanter with cunning spells.
III
7 O God, smash the teeth in their mouths;
break the fangs of these lions, Lord!(C)
8 Make them vanish like water flowing away;(D)
trodden down, let them wither like grass.(E)
9 Let them dissolve like a snail that oozes away,
like an untimely birth that never sees the sun.(F)
10 Suddenly, like brambles or thistles,
have the whirlwind snatch them away.(G)
11 Then the just shall rejoice to see the vengeance
and bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.(H)
12 Then people will say:
“Truly there is a reward for the just;
there is a God who is judge on earth!”
Footnotes
- Psalm 58
- 58:1
- 58:2
- 58:5–6
- 58:9
Cross references
- 58:2 : Ps 82:2; Dt 16:19.
- 58:5 : Ps 64:4; 140:3; Rom 3:13.
- 58:7 : Ps 3:7.
- 58:8 : Wis 16:29.
- 58:8 : Ps 37:2.
- 58:9 : Jb 3:16.
- 58:10 : Jb 21:18; Hos 13:3; Na 1:10.
- 58:11 : Ps 68:24; Is 63:1–6.
