Psalms 58

There is a God who judges the earth

Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge people with equity? ²No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth. ³Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.a

⁴Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears, ⁵that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be. ⁶Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions!

⁷Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short. ⁸May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along, like a stillborn child that never sees the sun. ⁹Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns— whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.

¹⁰The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked. ¹¹Then people will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.”b