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(A special psalm by David for the music leader. To the tune “Don't Destroy.”[a])

A Prayer When All Goes Wrong

Do you mighty people[b] talk
only to oppose justice?[c]
    Don't you ever judge fairly?
You are always planning evil,
    and you are brutal.
You have done wrong and lied
    from the day you were born.
Your words spread poison
    like the bite of a cobra
that refuses to listen
    to the snake charmer.

My enemies are fierce
    as lions, Lord God!
Shatter their teeth.
    Snatch out their fangs.
Make them disappear
like leaking water,
    and make their arrows miss.
Let them dry up like snails
or be like a child that dies
    before seeing the sun.
Wipe them out quicker
than a pot can be heated
    by setting thorns on fire.[d]

10 Good people will be glad
when they see the wicked
    getting what they deserve,
and they will wash their feet
    in their enemies' blood.
11 Everyone will say, “It's true!
    Good people are rewarded.
God does indeed rule the earth
    with justice.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 58 Don't Destroy: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  2. 58.1 mighty people: Or “mighty rulers” or “mighty gods.”
  3. 58.1 Do … justice: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  4. 58.9 Wipe … fire: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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