Psalm 58

NASB

Psalm 58

Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.

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1} For the choir director; set to ^(a)Al-tashheth. A ^(b)Mikhtam of David.

Do you indeed ^(c)speak righteousness, O ^(d)gods?
Do you ^(A)judge ^(e)uprightly, O sons of men?

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No, in heart you ^(B)work unrighteousness;
On earth you ^(C)weigh out the violence of your hands.

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The wicked are estranged ^(D)from the womb;
These who speak lies ^(E)go astray from ^(f)birth.

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They have venom like the ^(F)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,

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So that it ^(G)does not hear the voice of ^(g)^(H)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.

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O God, ^(I)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.

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Let them ^(J)flow away like water that runs off;
When he ^(h)^(K)aims his arrows, let them be as ⁽ⁱ⁾headless shafts.

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Let them be as a snail which ^(j)melts away as it goes along,
Like the ^(L)miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.

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Before your ^(M)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will ^(N)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the ^(k)green and the burning alike.

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The ^(O)righteous will rejoice when he ^(P)sees the vengeance;
He will ^(Q)wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

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And men will say, “Surely there is a ^(l)^(R)reward for the righteous;
Surely there is a God who ^(S)judges ^(m)on earth!”

Footnotes:

a. Psalm 58:1: ['Lit ', Do Not Destroy]

b. Psalm 58:1: ['Possibly ', Epigrammatic Poem, ' or ', Atonement Psalm]

c. Psalm 58:1: ['Another reading is ', speak righteousness in silence]

d. Psalm 58:1: ['Or ', mighty ones, ' or ', judges]

e. Psalm 58:1: ['Or ', uprightly the sons of men]

f. Psalm 58:3: ['Lit ', the womb]

g. Psalm 58:5: ['Or ', whisperers]

h. Psalm 58:7: ['Lit ', bends]

i. Psalm 58:7: ['Lit ', though they were cut off]

j. Psalm 58:8: ['I.e. secretes slime']

k. Psalm 58:9: ['Lit ', living]

l. Psalm 58:11: ['Lit ', fruit]

m. Psalm 58:11: ['Or ', in]

Cross references:

A. Psalm 58:1: Psalm 82:2

B. Psalm 58:2: Malachi 3:15

C. Psalm 58:2: Psalm 94:20; Isaiah 10:1

D. Psalm 58:3: Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 48:8

E. Psalm 58:3: Psalm 53:3

F. Psalm 58:4: Deuteronomy 32:33; Psalm 140:3

G. Psalm 58:5: Jeremiah 8:17

I. Psalm 58:6: Job 4:10; Psalm 3:7

J. Psalm 58:7: Joshua 2:11; Joshua 7:5; Psalm 112:10; Isaiah 13:7; Ezekiel 21:7

K. Psalm 58:7: Psalm 64:3

L. Psalm 58:8: Job 3:16

M. Psalm 58:9: Psalm 118:12

N. Psalm 58:9: Job 27:21; Psalm 83:15; Proverbs 10:25

O. Psalm 58:10: Job 22:19; Psalm 32:11; Psalm 64:10; Psalm 107:42

P. Psalm 58:10: Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalm 91:8; Jeremiah 11:20; Jeremiah 20:12

Q. Psalm 58:10: Psalm 68:23

R. Psalm 58:11: Psalm 18:20; Psalm 19:11; Isaiah 3:10; Luke 6:23; Luke 6:35

S. Psalm 58:11: Psalm 9:8; Psalm 67:4; Psalm 75:7; Psalm 94:2