Psalm 58-60
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 58
Prayer for Vengeance
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam.
1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
Do you judge people fairly?(A)
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.(B)
3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
they err from their birth, speaking lies.(C)
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,(D)
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.(E)
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!(F)
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away;
like grass let them be trodden down[a] and wither.(G)
8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.(H)
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!(I)
10 The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done;
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.(J)
11 People will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges[b] on earth.”(K)
Psalm 59
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when Saul ordered his house to be watched in order to kill him.
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise up against me.(L)
2 Deliver me from those who work evil;
from the bloodthirsty, save me.(M)
3 Even now they lie in wait for my life;
the mighty stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,(N)
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!(O)
5 You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah(P)
6 Each evening they come back
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.(Q)
7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
with sharp words[c] on their lips,
for “Who,” they think,[d] “will hear us?”(R)
8 But you laugh at them, O Lord;
you hold all the nations in derision.(S)
9 O my strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress.(T)
10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.(U)
11 Do not kill them, or my people may forget;
make them totter by your power and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield.(V)
12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,(W)
13 consume them in wrath;
consume them until they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob. Selah(X)
14 Each evening they come back
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.(Y)
15 They roam about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of your might;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been a fortress for me
and a refuge in the day of my distress.(Z)
17 O my strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.(AA)
Psalm 60
Prayer for National Victory after Defeat
To the leader: according to the Lily of the Covenant. A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
1 O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
you have been angry; now restore us!(AB)
2 You have caused the land to quake; you have torn it open;
repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.(AC)
3 You have made your people suffer hard things;
you have given us wine to drink that made us reel.(AD)
4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
to rally to it out of bowshot.[e] Selah(AE)
5 Give victory with your right hand and answer us,[f]
so that those whom you love may be rescued.(AF)
6 God has promised in his sanctuary,[g]
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.(AG)
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.(AH)
8 Moab is my washbasin;
on Edom I hurl my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”(AI)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.