Psalm 58:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!

NIV: Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns— whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.

NASB: Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.

CSB: Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns— whether green or burning— he will sweep them away.

NLT: God will sweep them away, both young and old, faster than a pot heats over burning thorns.

KJV: Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.

NKJV: Before your pots can feel the burning thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, As in His living and burning wrath.

In this passage, David points out the harm done by wicked judges and rulers (Psalm 58:1–2). He notes that they deliberately shut their ears to what is right (Psalm 58:3–5). And so, he calls on God to bring terrible, gruesome justice to these evil men (Psalm 58:6–8). Using deliberately shocking imagery, David appeals to the Lord to completely defeat such men and prevent them from doing further harm. David does not plan to take these matters into his own hands, however: these are emotional appeals for the Lord to act.

This verse emphasizes the speed with which David hopes God will act. Thorn bushes and briars typically have thin, light branches. When ignited, they are consumed very quickly. They might make good kindling (Judges 9:15), but without other fuel, they are consumed too soon to be of use. A pot set over nothing but a pile of thorns would barely feel any heat before the fire died out. The reference translated as "green or ablaze" is literally a comparison of "alive" versus "angry." This might refer to food that is raw or partly cooked—meaning the pots being cooked—or to God's ability to extinguish a fire regardless of how long it has been tended.

In another of the "imprecatory" psalms, Asaph uses the imagery of the Lord sweeping the wicked away in judgment. He writes: "How they [the prosperous, proud wicked] are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!" (Psalm 73:19). No one intentionally discards something of value, but a person intentionally sweeps away litter and dirt. The life that opposes God and assaults others will be swept away in judgment, because it rejected the Savior and did nothing of eternal value.

Psalm 58:6–11 follows a description of Israel's wicked rulers and judges with David's prayer for divine punishment. His words are emotional and somewhat graphic. David prays the Lord will obliterate these violent, evil people. He anticipates the joy the righteous will experience when the unscrupulous rulers and judges succumb to the Lord's punishment. When humanity sees God's justice done, they will celebrate and recognize the Lord's authority.

David begins this psalm with an indictment aimed at Israel's corrupt leaders, likely Israel's rulers and judges. He asks them whether they decree what is right and judge uprightly. He answers his own questions with a resounding "no." He blames them for plotting evil, committing violence, and lying. He portrays them as poisonous snakes. David asks God to destroy them to the point that they quickly vanish from the earth. When God punishes the wicked rulers and judges, the righteous will rejoice and declare that there is a God who rewards the righteous and does what is just.

David decries the injustice of wicked rulers and judges, likely during the later years of Saul's reign. David would have been in exile when he wrote this psalm. He prayed for deliverance from wicked leaders and for God's vengeance to be done. This is one of several "imprecatory" psalms which ask God to bring harsh punishment on His enemies.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.