Psalms 57:1--58:11

Psalm 57

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; a prayer of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave.

57:1 Have mercy on me, O God! Have mercy on me!

For in you I have taken shelter.

In the shadow of your wings I take shelter

until trouble passes.

57:2 I cry out for help to the sovereign God,

to the God who vindicates me.

57:3 May he send help from heaven and deliver me

from my enemies who hurl insults! (Selah)

May God send his loyal love and faithfulness!

57:4 I am surrounded by lions;

I lie down among those who want to devour me;

men whose teeth are spears and arrows,

whose tongues are a sharp sword.

57:5 Rise up above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth!

57:6 They have prepared a net to trap me;

I am discouraged.

They have dug a pit for me.

They will fall into it! (Selah)

57:7 I am determined, O God! I am determined!

I will sing and praise you!

57:8 Awake, my soul!

Awake, O stringed instrument and harp!

I will wake up at dawn!

57:9 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Master!

I will sing praises to you before foreigners!

57:10 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky,

and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.

57:11 Rise up above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth!

Psalm 58

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; a prayer of David.

58:1 Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions?

Do you judge people fairly?

58:2 No! You plan how to do what is unjust;

you deal out violence in the earth.

58:3 The wicked turn aside from birth;

liars go astray as soon as they are born.

58:4 Their venom is like that of a snake,

like a deaf serpent that does not hear,

58:5 that does not respond to the magicians,

or to a skilled snake-charmer.

58:6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths!

Smash the jawbones of the lions, O Lord!

58:7 Let them disappear like water that flows away!

Let them wither like grass!

58:8 Let them be like a snail that melts away as it moves along!

Let them be like stillborn babies that never see the sun!

58:9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots,

he will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat.

58:10 The godly will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;

they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

58:11 Then observers will say,

“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded!

Yes indeed, there is a God who judges in the earth!”