Psalm 58-60

Complete Jewish Bible

58 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” By David, a mikhtam:

²⁽¹⁾[Rulers,] does your silence really speak justice?
Are you judging people fairly?
³⁽²⁾[No!] In your hearts you devise wrongs,
your hands dispense violence in the land.

⁴⁽³⁾From the womb, the wicked are estranged,
liars on the wrong path since birth.
⁵⁽⁴⁾Their venom is like snake’s venom;
they are like a serpent that stops its ears,
⁶⁽⁵⁾so as not to hear the voice of the charmer,
no matter how well he plays.

⁷⁽⁶⁾God, break their teeth in their mouth!
Shatter the fangs of these lions, Adonai!
⁸⁽⁷⁾May they vanish like water that drains away.
May their arrows be blunted when they aim their bows.
⁹⁽⁸⁾May they be like a slug that melts as it moves,
like a stillborn baby that never sees the sun.
¹⁰⁽⁹⁾Before your cook-pots feel the heat of the burning thorns,
may he blow them away, green and blazing alike.

¹¹⁽¹⁰⁾The righteous will rejoice to see vengeance done,
they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked;
¹²⁽¹¹⁾and people will say, “Yes, the righteous are rewarded;
there is, after all, a God who judges the earth.”
59 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” By David; a mikhtam, when Sha’ul sent men to keep watch on David’s house in order to kill him:

²⁽¹⁾My God, rescue me from my enemies!
Lift me up, out of reach of my foes!
³⁽²⁾Rescue me from evildoers,
save me from bloodthirsty men.
⁴⁽³⁾For there they are, lying in wait to kill me.
Openly they gather themselves against me,
and not because I committed a crime
or sinned, Adonai.
⁵⁽⁴⁾For no fault of mine, they run and prepare.
Awaken to help me, and see!
⁶⁽⁵⁾You, Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot,
God of Isra’el,
arouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those wicked traitors. (Selah)

⁷⁽⁶⁾They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs
as they go around the city.
⁸⁽⁷⁾Look what pours out of their mouth,
what swords are on their lips,
[as they say to themselves,]
“No one is listening, anyway.”
⁹⁽⁸⁾But you, Adonai, laugh at them,
you mock all the nations.

¹⁰⁽⁹⁾My Strength, I will watch for you,
for God is my fortress.
¹¹⁽¹⁰⁾God, who gives me grace, will come to me;
God will let me gaze in triumph at my foes.

¹²⁽¹¹⁾Don’t kill them, or my people will forget;
instead, by your power, make them wander to and fro;
but bring them down, Adonai our Shield,
¹³⁽¹²⁾for the sins their mouths make with each word from their lips.
Let them be trapped by their pride
for the curses and falsehoods they utter.
¹⁴⁽¹³⁾Finish them off in wrath,
finish them off, put an end to them,
and let them know to the ends of the earth
that God is Ruler in Ya‘akov. (Selah)

¹⁵⁽¹⁴⁾They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs
as they go around the city.
¹⁶⁽¹⁵⁾They roam about, looking for food,
prowling all night if they don’t get their fill.
¹⁷⁽¹⁶⁾But as for me, I will sing of your strength;
in the morning I will sing aloud of your grace.
For you are my fortress,
a refuge when I am in trouble.
¹⁸⁽¹⁷⁾My Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for God is my fortress, God, who gives me grace.

60 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. Set to “Lily of Testimony.” A mikhtam of David for teaching about ²when he fought with Aram-Naharayim and with Aram-Tzovah, and Yo’av returned and killed 12,000 from Edom in the Salt Valley:

³⁽¹⁾God, you rejected us; you crushed us;
you were angry; but now revive us.
⁴⁽²⁾You made the land shake, split it apart;
now repair the rifts, for it is collapsing.
⁵⁽³⁾You made your people suffer hard times,
had us drink a wine that made us stagger.

⁶⁽⁴⁾To those who fear you because of the truth
you gave a banner to rally around, (Selah)
⁷⁽⁵⁾so that those you love could be rescued;
so save with your right hand, and answer us!

⁸⁽⁶⁾God in his holiness spoke,
and I took joy [in his promise]:
“I will divide Sh’khem
and determine the shares in the Sukkot Valley.
⁹⁽⁷⁾Gil‘ad is mine and M’nasheh mine,
Efrayim my helmet, Y’hudah my scepter.
¹⁰⁽⁸⁾Mo’av is my washpot; on Edom I throw my shoe;
P’leshet, be crushed because of me!”

¹¹⁽⁹⁾Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
¹²⁽¹⁰⁾God, have you rejected us?
You don’t go out with our armies, God.
¹³⁽¹¹⁾Help us against our enemy,
for human help is worthless.
¹⁴⁽¹²⁾With God’s help we will fight valiantly,
for he will trample our enemies.