Psalms 58

The God Who Judges the Earth Against Unjust Rulers

Challenge to unjust rulers -> exposure of heart-planned violence -> description of congenital wickedness and deaf serpent-like deception -> prayer for God to break destructive power -> images of wickedness dissolved and swept away -> righteous vindication -> public confession that God judges the earth.

World English Bible, Public Domain

1 Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?

2 No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.

3 The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

4 Their poison is like the poison of a snake, like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,

5 which doesn’t listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.

6 Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, Yahweh.

7 Let them vanish like water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.

8 Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.

9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.

10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,

11 so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”

Key Terms

דָּבַר dābar H1696
צֶדֶק ṣedeq H6664
שָׁפַט šāphaṭ H8199
מֵישָׁר mêšār H4339
בְּנֵי אָדָם bənê ʾādām H1121
לֵב lēb H3820
עֹולָה ʿōlâ H5766
יָד yād H3027
חָמָס ḥāmās H2555
אֶרֶץ ʾereṣ H776
רָשָׁע rāšāʿ H7563
זוּר zûr H2114

World English Bible (WEB): Public Domain Scripture text · License details