What does Psalm 58:6 mean?

This is one of the so-called "imprecatory" psalms, which call on God to bring retribution against evil people, often using sharp, pointed imagery. The wicked in this psalm (Psalm 58:1–5) are judges and other leaders who have deliberately ignored God's will. Their sin has resulted in lies and violence.

Asking God to "break the teeth" of these evil people has at least two meanings. The first is the obvious imagery of violence: striking someone in the face with such force that their teeth crack. The second implies silencing their lies by making them incapable of speech. This is further emphasized with reference to taking away a lion's teeth: removing one of its primary weapons. The danger of lions, and God demonstrating power over such threats, is a theme in Scripture (Daniel 6:19–22; 1 Peter 5:6–11).

Asaph predicts the judgment that awaits the arrogant wicked. He writes, "Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms" (Psalm 73:18–20). Revelation 20:10 reveals that the Devil, himself, will be "thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur … [to] be tormented day and night forever and ever."