Psalms — Chapter 58

For the leader; al tashḥeth. Of David. A michtam.

O mighty ones,aO mighty ones Meaning of Heb. uncertain. do you really decree what is just?Do you judge humankind with equity?

In your minds you devise wrongdoing in the land;with your hands you deal out lawlessness.bwith your hands you deal out lawlessness Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

The wicked are defiant from birth;the liars go astray from the womb.

Their venom is like that of a snake,a deaf viper that stops its ears

so as not to hear the voice of charmersor the expert mutterer of spells.

O God, smash their teeth in their mouth;shatter the fangs of lions, O ETERNAL One;

let them melt, let them vanish like water—aim Your arrows that they be cut down—

like a snail that melts away as it moves;clike a snail that melts away as it moves Meaning of Heb. uncertain. like a woman’s stillbirth—may they never see the sun!

Before the thorns grow into a bramble,whirl them away alive in fury.dthe thorns grow … in fury Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

The righteous will rejoice when they see revenge;they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

People will say,“There is, then, a reward for the righteous;there is, indeed, divine justice on earth.”