Logo - Feel The Words
JPS

Psalms Chapter 58 (JPS)

minutes - words.
Psalm 58: A Rebuke of Unjust Judges
Tap a verse to highlight it

1 For the Leader; Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David; Michtam.

2 Do ye indeed speak as a righteous company? Do ye judge with equity the sons of men?

3 Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh out in the earth the violence of your hands.

4 The wicked are estranged from the womb; the speakers of lies go astray as soon as they are born.

5 Their venom is like the venom of a serpent; they are like the deaf asp that stoppeth her ear;

6 Which hearkeneth not to the voice of charmers, or of the most cunning binder of spells.

7 Break their teeth, O G-d, in their mouth; break out the cheek-teeth of the young lions, O HaShem.

8 Let them melt away as water that runneth apace; when he aimeth his arrows, let them be as though they were cut off.

9 Let them be as a snail which melteth and passeth away; like the untimely births of a woman, that have not seen the sun.

10 Before your pots can feel the thorns, He will sweep it away with a whirlwind, the raw and the burning alike.

11 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

12 And men shall say: 'Verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily there is a G-d that judgeth in the earth.'

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Psalm 58 accuse?
Psalm 58 accuses corrupt judges of injustice from birth -- 'The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies' (v.3) -- and calls for God to break their power, ending with confidence that 'there is a reward for the righteous' (v.11).
What vivid images does the psalm use for the wicked?
It compares them to a deaf snake that won't listen to charmers (vv.4-5) and asks God to make them melt away 'as waters which run continually' or vanish 'like the untimely birth of a woman' (vv.7-8).
How does the psalm conclude?
It concludes that watching justice done will prove 'there is a reward for the righteous... a God that judgeth in the earth' (v.11), a confidence in God's righteous judgment shared with Psalms 67:4.

Today's Verse

if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captive, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:

2-chronicles 6:38 | ASV

Verse Of The Day

David asks God to break their strength like teeth in a lion's mouth so the righteous can say 'there is a reward for the righteous,' a vindication echoed at Psalms 67:4. The prayer for justice continues in Psalms 59.