Psalms 58

58 ¹ Do you indeed decree what is right, you rulers? Do you judge the children of man with fairness? ^a a v1 "Do Not Destroy" is the name of the melody to which this psalm was sung. ² No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence across the land. ³ The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. ⁴ Their venom is like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf cobra that plugs its ear, ⁵ so that it will not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter. ⁶ O our Father, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, our Father! ⁷ Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be cut short. ⁸ Like a snail that melts away as it moves, like a stillborn child who never sees the sun. ⁹ Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, whether green or ablaze, he will sweep them away. ¹⁰ The righteous will rejoice when they see justice done; they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked. ¹¹ And people will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely our Father judges the earth."