Psalms 58:1-11
Psalms 58:1-11 The Message (MSG)
Is this any way to run a country? Is there an honest politician in the house? Behind the scenes you weave webs of deceit, behind closed doors you make deals with demons. The wicked crawl from the wrong side of the cradle; their first words out of the womb are lies. Poison, lethal rattlesnake poison, drips from their forked tongues— Deaf to threats, deaf to charm, decades of wax built up in their ears. God, smash their teeth to bits, leave them toothless tigers. Let their lives be buckets of water spilled, all that’s left, a damp stain in the sand. Let them be trampled grass worn smooth by the traffic. Let them dissolve into snail slime, be a miscarried fetus that never sees sunlight. Before what they cook up is half-done, God, throw it out with the garbage! The righteous will call up their friends when they see the wicked get their reward, Serve up their blood in goblets as they toast one another, Everyone cheering, “It’s worth it to play by the rules! God’s handing out trophies and tending the earth!”
Psalms 58:1-11 King James Version (KJV)
Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; Ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. The wicked are estranged from the womb: They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, Charming never so wisely. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: Like the untimely birth of a woman, That they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: Verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Psalms 58:1-11 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men? No, in heart you work unrighteousness; On earth you weigh out the violence of your hands. The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth. They have venom like the venom of a serpent; Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear, So that it does not hear the voice of charmers, Or a skillful caster of spells. O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun. Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike. The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!”
Psalms 58:1-11 New Century Version (NCV)
Do you rulers really say what is right? Do you judge people fairly? No, in your heart you plan evil; you think up violent crimes in the land. From birth, evil people turn away from God; they wander off and tell lies as soon as they are born. They are like poisonous snakes, like deaf cobras that stop up their ears so they cannot hear the music of the snake charmer no matter how well he plays. God, break the teeth in their mouths! Tear out the fangs of those lions, LORD! Let them disappear like water that flows away. Let them be cut short like a broken arrow. Let them be like snails that melt as they move. Let them be like a child born dead who never saw the sun. His anger will blow them away alive faster than burning thorns can heat a pot. Good people will be glad when they see him get even. They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. Then people will say, “There really are rewards for doing what is right. There really is a God who judges the world.”
Psalms 58:1-11 American Standard Version (ASV)
Do ye indeed in silence speak righteousness? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? Nay, in heart ye work wickedness; Ye weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth. The wicked are estranged from the womb: They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear, Which hearkeneth not to the voice of charmers, Charming never so wisely. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Jehovah. Let them melt away as water that runneth apace: When he aimeth his arrows, let them be as though they were cut off. Let them be as a snail which melteth and passeth away, Like the untimely birth of a woman, that hath not seen the sun. Before your pots can feel the thorns, He will take them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked; So that men shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Psalms 58:1-11 New International Version (NIV)
Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge people with equity? No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth. Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies. Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears, that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be. Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions! Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short. May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along, like a stillborn child that never sees the sun. Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns— whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away. The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked. Then people will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.”
Psalms 58:1-11 New King James Version (NKJV)
Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men? No, in heart you work wickedness; You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth. The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear, Which will not heed the voice of charmers, Charming ever so skillfully. Break their teeth in their mouth, O God! Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! Let them flow away as waters which run continually; When he bends his bow, Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces. Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes, Like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the burning thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, As in His living and burning wrath. The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, So that men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely He is God who judges in the earth.”
Psalms 58:1-11 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods (heavenly beings)? Do you judge fairly, O sons of men? [Ps 82:1, 2] No, in your heart you devise wrongdoing; On earth you deal out the violence of your hands. The wicked are estranged from the womb; These go astray from birth, speaking lies [even twisted partial truths]. Their poison is like the venom of a serpent; They are like the deaf horned viper that stops up its ear, So that it does not listen to the voice of charmers, Or of the skillful enchanter casting [cunning] spells. ¶O God, break their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. Let them be as a snail which melts away (secretes slime) as it goes along, Like the miscarriage of a woman which never sees the sun. Before your cooking pots can feel the fire of thorns [burning under them as fuel], He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning ones alike. ¶The [unyieldingly] righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance [of God]; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. Men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on the earth.”
Psalms 58:1-11 New Living Translation (NLT)
Justice—do you rulers know the meaning of the word? Do you judge the people fairly? No! You plot injustice in your hearts. You spread violence throughout the land. These wicked people are born sinners; even from birth they have lied and gone their own way. They spit venom like deadly snakes; they are like cobras that refuse to listen, ignoring the tunes of the snake charmers, no matter how skillfully they play. Break off their fangs, O God! Smash the jaws of these lions, O LORD! May they disappear like water into thirsty ground. Make their weapons useless in their hands. May they be like snails that dissolve into slime, like a stillborn child who will never see the sun. God will sweep them away, both young and old, faster than a pot heats over burning thorns. The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged. They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. Then at last everyone will say, “There truly is a reward for those who live for God; surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.”
Psalms 58:1-11 The Passion Translation (TPT)
God’s justice? You high and mighty politicians know nothing about it! Which one of you has walked in justice toward others? Which one of you has treated everyone right and fair? Not one! You only give “justice” in exchange for a bribe. For the right price you let others get away with murder. Wicked wanderers even from the womb—that’s who you are! You lie with your words, and your teaching is poison. Like cobras closing their ears to the most expert of the charmers, you strike out against all who are near. O God, break their fangs; shatter the teeth of these ravenous lions! Let them disappear like water falling on thirsty ground. Let all their weapons be useless. Let them be like snails dissolving into the slime. Let them be cut off, never seeing the light of day! God will sweep them away so fast that they’ll never know what hit them. The godly will celebrate in the triumph of good over evil, and the lovers of God will trample the wickedness of the wicked under their feet! Then everyone will say, “There is a God who judges the judges” and “There is a great reward in loving God!”
Psalms 58:1-11 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth. The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter. O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away! The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.”