Psalms 58

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

Psalm 58 begins with the psalmist questioning rulers and men regarding whether they speak and judge justly. The text states that the wicked devise injustice in their hearts, deal out violence, and are estranged and prone to lying from birth. Their venom is compared to that of a deaf snake that ignores the voice of a charmer. The psalmist then calls upon God to break the teeth of the wicked, tear out the fangs of young lions, and cause the wicked to vanish like flowing water, melt like a slug, or pass away like a stillborn child before seeing the sun. God is described as sweeping them away swiftly like burning thorns under a pot. Finally, the righteous rejoice upon seeing this vengeance, washing their feet in the blood of the wicked, leading observers to acknowledge a reward for the righteous and a God who judges the earth.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men? ²No, in your hearts you devise injustice; with your hands you mete out violence on the earth. ³The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth. ⁴Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears, ⁵refusing to hear the tune of the charmer who skillfully weaves his spell. ⁶O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions. ⁷May they vanish like water that runs off; when they draw the bow, may their arrows be blunted. ⁸Like a slug that dissolves in its slime, like a woman’s stillborn child, may they never see the sun. ⁹Before your pots can feel the burning thorns— whether green or dry— He will sweep them away. ¹⁰The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. ¹¹Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”

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Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.