Psalm 58-59

New Life Version

Prayer for God to Punish the Sinful

58 Do you speak what is right and good, O you powerful ones? Are you always right in how you judge, O sons of men? ² No, in your heart you do what is wrong. You use your hands to hurt and destroy in the land. ³ The sinful go wrong as soon as they are born. Those who speak lies go the wrong way from birth. ⁴ Their poison is like the poison of a snake. They are like a cobra that cannot or will not listen. ⁵ It does not hear the voice of the man who has power over it, even if the man is very good in his work.

⁶ O God, break the teeth in their mouth. Break out the teeth of the young lions, O Lord. ⁷ Let them flow away like water that pours. When he uses his arrows, let them have no heads. ⁸ Let them be like a snail that melts away as it goes. Like a baby born dead, may they never see the sun. ⁹ Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns, He will blow them away with a storm, both the green and the burning ones.

¹⁰ The one who is right and good will be full of joy when he sees the sinful punished. He will wash his feet in their blood. ¹¹ And men will say, “For sure there is pay for those who are right and good. For sure there is a God Who says who is guilty or not on the earth.”

Prayer for a Safe Place

59 O my God, take me away from those who hate me. Put me up high above those who rise up against me. ² Take me away from those who do wrong. And save me from those who kill. ³ For, look, they lie in wait for my life. Strong men are gathering together to fight me, but not because of my wrong-doing or my sin, O Lord. ⁴ I have done no wrong, but they get ready to fight against me. Rise up to help me. ⁵ You, O Lord God of All, God of Israel, rise up to punish all the nations. Show no loving-kindness to those people who cannot be trusted and plan sins. ⁶ They return at evening. They sound like dogs and go around the city. ⁷ See, they spit with their mouth. Swords are in their lips. And they say, “Who can hear us?” ⁸ But You laugh at them, O Lord. You laugh at all the nations.

⁹ O my Strength, I will watch for You. For God is my strong place. ¹⁰ My God in His loving-kindness will meet me. God will let me look at those who come against me and know that I will win the fight. ¹¹ Do not kill them, or my people may forget. Divide them by Your power and bring them down, O Lord, our safe-covering. ¹² Let them be caught in their pride for the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips. For the lies and bad things they say, ¹³ destroy them in anger. Destroy them so that they will be no more. Let it be known that God rules in Jacob and to the ends of the earth.

¹⁴ They return at evening. They make sounds like dogs and go around the city. ¹⁵ They go around looking for food and they show their teeth if they are not filled.

¹⁶ But as for me, I will sing of Your strength. Yes, I will sing with joy of Your loving-kindness in the morning. For You have been a strong and safe place for me in times of trouble. ¹⁷ O my Strength, I will sing praises to You. For God is my strong place and the God Who shows me loving-kindness.