New American Standard Bible

Psalm 58

Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.

For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David.

1 Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?
2 No, in heart you work unrighteousness; On earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent; Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it does not hear the voice of charmers, Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD.
7 Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.
8 Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And men will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!"