Psalms 58

Psalm 58

Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.

1Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods (heavenly beings)? Do you judge fairly, O sons of men?

2No, in your heart you devise wrongdoing; On earth you deal out the violence of your hands.

3The wicked are estranged from the womb; These go astray from birth, speaking lies [even twisted partial truths].

4Their poison is like the venom of a serpent; They are like the deaf horned viper that stops up its ear,

5So that it does not listen to the voice of charmers, Or of the skillful enchanter casting [cunning] spells.

6O God, break their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.

7Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.

8Let them be as a snail which melts away (secretes slime) as it goes along, Like the miscarriage of a woman which never sees the sun.

9Before your cooking pots can feel the fire of thorns [burning under them as fuel], He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning ones alike.

10The [unyieldingly] righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance [of God]; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

11Men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on the earth.”