Psalms 58

A Rebuke to Unjust Rulers

1 Do you actually speak what is right, you gods, Do you judge the sons of humans fairly,

2 No, in your hearts you cook up wrongs; On earth you drop violence with your hands.

3 The wicked are messed up from the womb; They are wrong from birth, they lie.

4 Their poison is like the poison of a snake, Like a deaf cobra that shuts its ear,

5 That will not listen to the voice of the one who charms it, The expert charmer.

A Prayer for Justice

6 God, break their teeth in their mouth; Lord, bust the fangs of the young lions.

7 Let them melt away like water that runs off; When they shoot their arrows, let them be like they are cut off.

8 Let them be like a snail that melts as it goes, Like a baby born dead that did not see the sun.

9 Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns, He will sweep them away with a wind.

10 The righteous will be happy when he sees the payback; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

11 And people will say, “For sure there is a prize for the righteous; For sure there is a God who judges on earth.”