Psalms 58:1-9

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.