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Psalm chapter 58

English Standard Version

1Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? 2No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth. 3The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. 4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 5so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter. 6O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! 7Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. 8Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. 9Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away! 10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11Mankind will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth."
New International Version

1For the director of music. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." Of David. A miktam. Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge people with equity?
2No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth. 3Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies. 4Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
5that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be. 6Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions! 7Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.
8May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along, like a stillborn child that never sees the sun. 9Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns— whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away. 10The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked. 11Then people will say, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth."
New American Standard Bible

1Do you indeed speak righteousness, you gods? Do you judge fairly, you sons of mankind? 2No, in heart you practice injustice; On earth you clear a way for the violence of your hands. 3The wicked have turned away from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth. 4They have venom like the venom of a serpent; Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear, 5So that it does not hear the voice of charmers, Or a skillful caster of spells. 6God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord. 7May they flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, may they be as headless shafts. 8 May they be like a snail which goes along in slime, Like the miscarriage of a woman that never sees the sun. 9Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike. 10The righteous will rejoice when he sees vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11And people will say, 'There certainly is a reward for the righteous; There certainly is a God who judges on the earth!'
Christian Standard Bible

1For the choir director: "Do Not Destroy." A Miktam of David. Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones? Do you judge people fairly?
2No, you practice injustice in your hearts; with your hands you weigh out violence in the land. 3The wicked go astray from the womb; liars wander about from birth. 4They have venom like the venom of a snake, like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears,
5that does not listen to the sound of the charmers who skillfully weave spells. 6God, knock the teeth out of their mouths; Lord, tear out the young lions’ fangs. 7May they vanish like water that flows by; may they aim their blunted arrows.
8Like a slug that moves along in slime, like a woman’s miscarried child, may they not see the sun. 9Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns— whether green or burning— he will sweep them away. 10The righteous one will rejoice when he sees the retribution; he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11Then people will say, "Yes, there is a reward for the righteous! There is a God who judges on earth!"
New Living Translation

1 Justice — do you rulers know the meaning of the word? Do you judge the people fairly? 2No! You plot injustice in your hearts. You spread violence throughout the land. 3These wicked people are born sinners; even from birth they have lied and gone their own way. 4They spit venom like deadly snakes; they are like cobras that refuse to listen, 5ignoring the tunes of the snake charmers, no matter how skillfully they play.
6Break off their fangs, O God! Smash the jaws of these lions, O Lord! 7May they disappear like water into thirsty ground. Make their weapons useless in their hands. 8May they be like snails that dissolve into slime, like a stillborn child who will never see the sun. 9God will sweep them away, both young and old, faster than a pot heats over burning thorns.
10The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged. They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. 11Then at last everyone will say, 'There truly is a reward for those who live for God; surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.'
King James Version

1To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
2Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
3The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
4Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
5Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.
6Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord.
7Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
8As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
9Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.
10The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
New King James Version

1{To the Chief Musician. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David.} Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men? 2No, in heart you work wickedness; You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth. 3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. 4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear, 5Which will not heed the voice of charmers, Charming ever so skillfully. 6 Break their teeth in their mouth, O God! Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! 7 Let them flow away as waters which run continually; When he bends his bow, Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces. 8 Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes, Like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun. 9Before your pots can feel the burning thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, As in His living and burning wrath. 10The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, 11 So that men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely He is God who judges in the earth.”

What does Psalm chapter 58 mean?

This is one of several "imprecatory" psalms. These are songs which call on God, in emotional and often graphic terms, to bring justice to wicked people (Psalm 5; 10; 17; 59; 137). They are not appeals for other people to act, nor are they promises that the psalmist will make these events occur. Rather, they are prayers for the Lord to act, spoken out of deep pain and anger.

David's anger is directed at the leaders—probably politicians and judges—of Israel during what was probably his exile and escape from King Saul. Rather than applying truth and righteousness, these men plot evil. The result of such corruption is violence and harm (Psalm 58:1–2).

These evil men are described as inherently, thoroughly corrupt. Though all people are tainted by sin (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:10, 23), the men criticized here are deliberate about their sin. They enthusiastically choose to ignore what God has said. David compares this to a venomous snake which purposefully ignores the music of a snake charmer. His point is that the evil men in question are not confused. Nor are they sincere. Rather, they know what they do is evil, yet they choose to do it all the same (Psalm 58:3–5).

What David seeks is God's harsh and immediate justice. This partly involves removing their ability to do further harm. David begins by referring to smashing teeth, breaking fangs, and cutting off the sharp tips of arrows. He also asks God to apply gruesome, graphic retaliation on these evil men. David uses the imagery of creatures who decompose into slime and even a miscarried infant to depict the end he desires for these evildoers. He asks for the Lord to act with speed, bringing this fate immediately (Psalm 58:6–9).

David presumes that when God's people see this dramatic justice, they will turn to praise God. He anticipates that the results will be as obvious as if one were walking through the bloody remnants of a battlefield. David's hope and prayer is that the world will see this judgment and acknowledge God's position of authority (Psalm 58:10–11).
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