Psalms 58 — FBV

For the music director. According to “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm (miktam) of David.

58Verse 1You leaders,⁺do you really say what is right? Do you judge people fairly?
^{Verse 2}No, for in your minds you plan evil. You cause violence everywhere!
^{Verse 3}The wicked are sinners from birth; from the moment they're born they tell lies.
^{Verse 4}They have venom like that of a poisonous snake, and just like a cobra they stop listening,
^{Verse 5}refusing to hear the voice of the snake charmers or the spellbinders.
^{Verse 6}God, break their teeth, and smash the jaws of these lions, Lord.
^{Verse 7}May they vanish like water that flows away; when they shoot their arrows may they miss their mark.^{+
Verse 8}May they be like the slime of snails that dissolves away, like a stillborn child that never saw the light of day.
^{Verse 9}Before the cooking pot is hot from burning thorns, whether fresh or dry, God will blow them away.^{+
Verse 10}Those who live right will be happy when they see there is punishment; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
^{Verse 11}They will say, “There is definitely a reward for those who live right; there is certainly a God who judges fairly on earth.”