Psalm 58

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?

²No, in your hearts you devise injustice; with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.

³The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth.

⁴Their venom [is] like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,

⁵refusing to hear the tune of the charmer who skillfully weaves his spell.

⁶O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.

⁷May they vanish like water that runs off; when they draw the bow, may their arrows be blunted.

⁸Like a slug that dissolves in its slime, like a woman’s stillborn child, may they never see the sun.

⁹Before your pots can feel [the burning] thorns — whether green or dry — He will sweep them away.

¹⁰The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”