Psalm 58:1-12
(NLT)
Prayer For God To Punish The Sinful
Do you speak what is right and good, O you powerful ones? Are you always right in how you judge, O sons of men?*
No, in your heart you do what is wrong. You use your hands to hurt and destroy in the land.
The sinful go wrong as soon as they are born. Those who speak lies go the wrong way from birth.
Their poison is like the poison of a snake. They are like a cobra that cannot or will not listen.
It does not hear the voice of the man who has power over it, even if the man is very good in his work.
O God, break the teeth in their mouth. Break out the teeth of the young lions, O Lord.
Let them flow away like water that pours. When he uses his arrows, let them have no heads.
Let them be like a snail that melts away as it goes. Like a baby born dead, may they never see the sun.
Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns, He will blow them away with a storm, both the green and the burning ones.
The one who is right and good will be full of joy when he sees the sinful punished. He will wash his feet in their blood.
And men will say, "For sure there is a reward for those who are right and good. For sure there is a God Who says who is guilty or not on the earth."
*Scribe's
notes: some translations refer to this chapter pertaining to lawyers,
some translations to politicians, and others to judges and rulers. Tyndale
House Publisher's (Inc.) The Living Bible states, in the
first and second verse:
Justice?
You high and mighty politicians don't even know the meaning of the
word! Fairness? Which of you has any left? Not one!
All your dealings are crooked: you give "justice" in exchange for
bribes.
Psalm 58
(ESV)
God Who Judges the Earth
1 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.
11Mankind will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth."
Psalm 58
(NIV)
1 Do you rulers indeed speak justly?
Do you judge uprightly among men?
2 No, in your heart you devise injustice,
and your hands mete out violence on the earth.
3 Even from birth the wicked go astray;
from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
5 that will not heed the tune of the charmer,
however skillful the enchanter may be.
6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;
tear out, O LORD, the fangs of the lions!
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away;
when they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted.
8 Like a slug melting away as it moves along,
like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away. [b]
10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,
when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then men will say,
"Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
surely there is a God who judges the earth."
