Psalm 58

Prayer For The Punishment Of The Wicked.

To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” A Mikhtam of David. [A record of memorable thoughts of David]. 1Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods (heavenly beings)?
Do you judge fairly, O sons of men? 2No, in your heart you devise wrongdoing;
On earth you deal out the violence of your hands. 3The wicked are estranged from the womb;
These go astray from birth, speaking lies [even twisted partial truths]. 4Their poison is like the venom of a serpent;
They are like the deaf horned viper that stops up its ear, 5So that it does not listen to the voice of charmers,
Or of the skillful enchanter casting [cunning] spells. 6O God, break their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. 7Let them flow away like water that runs off;
When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. 8Let them be as a snail which melts away (secretes slime) as it goes along,
Like the miscarriage of a woman which never sees the sun. 9Before your cooking pots can feel the fire of thorns [burning under them as fuel],
He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning ones alike. 10The [unyieldingly] righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance [of God];
He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11Men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely there is a God who judges on the earth.”