Psalm 58 | New International Reader’s Version English Standard Version

Psalm 58 | New International Reader’s Version

For the director of music. A miktam of David to the tune of ‘Do Not Destroy.’

1 Are you rulers really fair when you speak? Do you judge people honestly? 2 No, in your hearts you plan to be unfair. With your hands you do terrible things on the earth. 3 Even from birth those who are evil go down the wrong path. From the day they are born they go the wrong way and spread lies. 4 Their words are like the poison of a snake. They are like the poison of a cobra that has covered up its ears. 5 It won’t listen to a snake charmer’s tune, even if the charmer plays very well. 6 God, break the teeth in the mouths of those sinners! LORD, tear out the sharp teeth of those lions! 7 Let those people disappear like water that flows away. When they draw their bows, let their arrows fall short of the target. 8 Let them be like a slug that melts away as it moves along. Let them be like a baby that is born dead and never sees the sun. 9 Evil people will be swept away before burning thorns can heat a pot. And it doesn’t matter if the thorns are green or dry. 10 Godly people will be glad when those who have hurt them are paid back. They will dip their feet in the blood of those who do evil. 11 Then people will say, ‘The godly will get their reward. There really is a God who judges the earth.’

Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV® (Anglicised) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.® Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide. “Biblica”, “International Bible Society” and the Biblica Logo are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission.

English Standard Version

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? 2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth. 3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. 4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter. 6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! 7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. 8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. 9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!* 10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.”