Psalm 58

Psalm 58

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 58

Psalm 58^[a]

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

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 58:1 In Hebrew texts 58:1-11 is numbered 58:2-12.
2. Psalm 58:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
3. Psalm 58:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.