Psalm 58

King James Version

1 To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David. Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? 

2 Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. 

3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. 

4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; 

5 Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. 

6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. 

7 Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. 

8 As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. 

9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. 

10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 

11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. 

King James Bible (1769). Public Domain.
Please note the following exceptions for use and publication in the United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

Psalm 58

English Standard Version

from Crossway

God Who Judges the Earth

1 To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David. Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? (Ps 16:1; Ps 57:1) 

2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth. (Ps 94:20) 

3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. (Ps 51:5; Isa 48:8) 

4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, (De 32:33; Ps 140:3) 

5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter. (Jer 8:17) 

6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! (Job 4:10; Job 29:17; Ps 3:7) 

7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. (Jos 7:5; Ps 64:3; Ps 112:10) 

8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. (Job 3:16; Ps 58:7) 

9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away! (Job 27:21; Ps 118:12; Pr 10:25; Ec 7:6) 

10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. (De 32:43; Job 22:19; Ps 68:23) 

11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.” (Ge 18:25; Job 19:29; Ps 67:4; Ps 94:2; Ec 12:14; Isa 3:10) 

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