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Psalms 58

Prayer for the punishment of the wicked.

For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David. Michtam.

¹To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David.

²Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the sons of men uprightly?

³Nay, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.

⁴The wicked go astray from the womb, they err from their birth, speaking lies.

⁵They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear,

⁶so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.

⁷O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!

⁸Let them vanish like water that runs away; like grass let them be trodden down and wither.

⁹Let them be like the snail which dissolves into slime, like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.

¹⁰Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!

¹¹The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. [ (Psalms 58:12) Men will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth." ]

Psalms 58 (RSV)

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Psalms

Chapter 58

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