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New Testament
Psalm 58
Psalm 58
Do You Rulers Speak Justly?
Unjust Rulers
Do you sons of Adam judge rightly?
2No, in your heart you commit injustices.
On the earth your hands distribute violence.
3The wicked go off course already from the womb.
From the belly they go astray. They speak lies.
4Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like a deaf cobra that has stopped its ears,
5that will not listen to the sound of the charmers,
however skillful the spellbinder may be.
The Curse on Unjust Rulers
6O God, break their teeth in their mouths.
Tear out the fangs of the young lions, Lord!
7Let them vanish like water that flows away.
8As a slug melts away, so let him disappear.
Like a stillborn child may they not see the sun.
9Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
The Joy of the Righteous
10The righteous one will be glad when he sees vengeance.
He will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11Then people will say, “Surely there is fruit for the righteous.
Surely there is a God judging on the earth.”
Footnotes
- 58:0 This may be the name of the tune.
- 58:1 This translation follows a correction of the text followed by most modern versions. The Hebrew and Greek read: Do you really speak justice in silence?
- 58:7 The text and its meaning are uncertain. Literally it seems to read: he treads his arrows like they are cut off/dry up.
- 58:9 The meaning is uncertain. Literally it seems to read: like living, like burning anger he will sweep it away.