Psalm 58-59

The Message

^3-5 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.

^6-9 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!

^10-11 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!”
59 ^1-2 My God! Rescue me from my enemies,
    defend me from these mutineers.
Rescue me from their dirty tricks,
    save me from their hit men.

^3-4 Desperadoes have ganged up on me,
    they’re hiding in ambush for me.
I did nothing to deserve this, God,
    crossed no one, wronged no one.
All the same, they’re after me,
    determined to get me.

^4-5 Wake up and see for yourself! You’re God,
    God-of-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God!
Get on the job and take care of these pagans,
    don’t be soft on these hard cases.

^6-7     They return when the sun goes down,
    They howl like coyotes, ringing the city.
    Then suddenly they’re all at the gate,
    Snarling invective, drawn daggers in their teeth.
    They think they’ll never get caught.

^8-10 But you, God, break out laughing;
    you treat the godless nations like jokes.
Strong God, I’m watching you do it,
    I can always count on you.
God in dependable love shows up on time,
    shows me my enemies in ruin.

^11-13 Don’t make quick work of them, God,
    lest my people forget.
Bring them down in slow motion,
    take them apart piece by piece.
Let all their mean-mouthed arrogance
    catch up with them,
Catch them out and bring them down
    —every muttered curse
    —every barefaced lie.
Finish them off in fine style!
    Finish them off for good!
Then all the world will see
    that God rules well in Jacob,
    everywhere that God’s in charge.

^14-15     They return when the sun goes down,
    They howl like coyotes, ringing the city.
    They scavenge for bones,
    And bite the hand that feeds them.

^16-17 And me? I’m singing your prowess,
    shouting at dawn your largesse,
For you’ve been a safe place for me,
    a good place to hide.
Strong God, I’m watching you do it,
    I can always count on you—
    God, my dependable love.