Psalm 58
A rebuke of unrighteous judges.
A REBUKE OF UNJUST JUDGES
For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David.
VERSE 1. Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?
Do you indeed speak righteousness. David is questioning the integrity of the unjust judges.
David’s question is answered in verse 2 below.
VERSE 2. No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.
No. This answers the question asked in verse 1 above. They do not speak righteousness.
VERSE 3. The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
go astray from the womb. They were wicked when they were born.
speaking lies. They have always been liars.
VERSE 4. Their poison is like the poison of a snake; like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,
VERSE 5. which doesn’t listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.
doesn’t listen. They would not heed any correction.
VERSE 6. Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, LORD.
Break their teeth. That is, keep them from communicating their injustice.
VERSE 7. Let them vanish like water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.
VERSE 8. Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.
Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away. That is, “Let them dissolve like a snail that oozes away” (our paraphrase).
VERSE 9. Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.
the heat of the thorns. A fire that burns thorns dies out very quickly.
VERSE 10. The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. In language that is metaphorical and hyperbolic, David foresees a military victory.
VERSE 11. so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
PSALMS
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150
Deuterocanonical chapter: 151
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, David’s Fasting
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