Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David.
58 Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods?
Do you (A)judge uprightly, O sons of men?
2 No, in heart you (B)work unrighteousness;
On earth you (C)weigh out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged (D)from the womb;
These who speak lies (E)go astray from birth.
4 They have venom like the (F)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it (G)does not hear the voice of (H)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 O God, (I)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
7 Let them (J)flow away like water that runs off;
When he (K)aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.
8 Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along,
Like the (L)miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.
9 Before your (M)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (N)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.
10 The (O)righteous will rejoice when he (P)sees the vengeance;
He will (Q)wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And men will say, “Surely there is a (R)reward for the righteous;
Surely there is a God who (S)judges on earth!”
Footnotes
- Psalm 58:1
- Psalm 58:1
- Psalm 58:1
- Psalm 58:1
- Psalm 58:1
- Psalm 58:3
- Psalm 58:5
- Psalm 58:7
- Psalm 58:7
- Psalm 58:8
- Psalm 58:9
- Psalm 58:11
- Psalm 58:11
Cross references
- Psalm 58:1 : Ps 82:2
- Psalm 58:2 : Mal 3:15
- Psalm 58:2 : Ps 94:20; Is 10:1
- Psalm 58:3 : Ps 51:5; Is 48:8
- Psalm 58:3 : Ps 53:3
- Psalm 58:4 : Deut 32:33; Ps 140:3
- Psalm 58:5 : Jer 8:17
- Psalm 58:5 : Eccl 10:11
- Psalm 58:6 : Job 4:10; Ps 3:7
- Psalm 58:7 : Josh 2:11; 7:5; Ps 112:10; Is 13:7; Ezek 21:7
- Psalm 58:7 : Ps 64:3
- Psalm 58:8 : Job 3:16; Eccl 6:3
- Psalm 58:9 : Ps 118:12; Eccl 7:6
- Psalm 58:9 : Job 27:21; Ps 83:15; Prov 10:25
- Psalm 58:10 : Job 22:19; Ps 32:11; 64:10; 107:42
- Psalm 58:10 : Deut 32:43; Ps 91:8; Jer 11:20; 20:12
- Psalm 58:10 : Ps 68:23
- Psalm 58:11 : Ps 18:20; 19:11; Is 3:10; Luke 6:23, 35
- Psalm 58:11 : Ps 9:8; 67:4; 75:7; 94:2
