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Psalm 58
New Life Version
Psalm 58
New Life Version
Prayer for God to Punish the Sinful
58 Do you speak what is right and good, O you powerful ones? Are you always right in how you judge, O sons of men? 2 No, in your heart you do what is wrong. You use your hands to hurt and destroy in the land. 3 The sinful go wrong as soon as they are born. Those who speak lies go the wrong way from birth. 4 Their poison is like the poison of a snake. They are like a cobra that cannot or will not listen. 5 It does not hear the voice of the man who has power over it, even if the man is very good in his work.
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouth. Break out the teeth of the young lions, O Lord. 7 Let them flow away like water that pours. When he uses his arrows, let them have no heads. 8 Let them be like a snail that melts away as it goes. Like a baby born dead, may they never see the sun. 9 Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns, He will blow them away with a storm, both the green and the burning ones.
10 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. 11 And men will say, “For sure there is pay for those who are right and good. For sure there is a God Who says who is guilty or not on the earth.”
Psalm 58
New International Version
Psalm 58
New International Version
Psalm 58[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[b]
1 Do you rulers indeed speak justly?(A)
Do you judge people with equity?
2 No, in your heart you devise injustice,(B)
and your hands mete out violence on the earth.(C)
3 Even from birth the wicked go astray;
from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,(D)
like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
5 that will not heed(E) the tune of the charmer,(F)
however skillful the enchanter may be.
6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;(G)
Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions!(H)
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away;(I)
when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.(J)
8 May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,(K)
like a stillborn child(L) that never sees the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns(M)—
whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.[c](N)
10 The righteous will be glad(O) when they are avenged,(P)
when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.(Q)
11 Then people will say,
“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;(R)
surely there is a God who judges the earth.”(S)
Footnotes
- Psalm 58:1 In Hebrew texts 58:1-11 is numbered 58:2-12.
- Psalm 58:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 58:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
New Life Version (NLV)
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