Psalms 58

God Who Judges the Earth

To the choirmaster: according to ^aDo Not Destroy. A ^bMiktam ▼

▼Probably a musical or liturgical term

of David.

1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? ▼

▼Or  you mighty lords (by revocalization; Hebrew in silence)

Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
2No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands ^edeal out violence on earth.
3 The wicked are ^festranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4 ^gThey have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5so that it ^hdoes not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
6 O God, ⁱbreak the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7Let them ^jvanish like water that runs away;
when he ^kaims his arrows, let them be blunted.
8Let them be like the snail ^lthat dissolves into slime,
like ^mthe stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of ⁿthorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he ^osweep them away! ▼

▼The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain

10 ^qThe righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will ^rbathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11Mankind will say, “Surely there is ^sa reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who ^tjudges on earth.”

Psalms 59

Deliver Me from My Enemies

To the choirmaster: according to ^uDo Not Destroy. A ^vMiktam ▼

▼Probably a musical or liturgical term

of David, ^xwhen Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

1 ^yDeliver me from my enemies, O my God;
^zprotect me from those who ^aarise up against me;
2deliver me from ^abthose who work evil,
and save me from ^acbloodthirsty men.
3 For behold, they ^adlie in wait for my life;
fierce men ^aestir up strife against me.
^afFor no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
^agAwake, come to meet me, and see!
5You, ^ahLord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.  Selah
6 Each evening they ^aicome back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
7There they are, ^ajbellowing with their mouths
with ^akswords in their lips—
for ^al“Who,” they think, ▼

▼Hebrew lacks  they think

“will hear us?”
8 But you, O Lord, ^anlaugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
9O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are ^aomy fortress.
10 ^apMy God in his steadfast love ▼

▼Or The God who shows me steadfast love

^arwill meet me;
God will let me ^aslook in triumph on my enemies.
11 Kill them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter ▼

▼Or wander

by your power and ^aubring them down,
O Lord, our ^avshield!
12For ^awthe sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 ^axconsume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
that they may ^ayknow that God rules over Jacob
to ^azthe ends of the earth.  Selah
14 ^baEach evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
15They ^bbwander about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me ^bca fortress
and ^bda refuge in ^bethe day of my distress.
17O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, ^bfare my fortress,
^bgthe God who shows me steadfast love.