Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 11 Oct. 2026
Underlined words in Scripture quotes indicate words that are in common with the Biblical language text of the sermon passage. Otherwise, underlining indicates words to emphasize vocally when reading this transcript out loud.
This is the third of 5 Mikhtam Psalms in a row by David. I suspect that a “Mikhtam” is some kind of journal David kept as he thought through his experiences. This one is on the topic of justice.
God commanded in Deuteronomy 16:18 “You shall appoint judges and officers (שֹׁטְרִים) in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment.” (NKJV) God gave us a built-in desire for justice, and we all get upset when injustice happens instead.
These days, we are bombarded by news of injustice from every side,
whether you are on the left of the political spectrum and are hearing about the injustice of police brutality, racism, infringments of women’s rights to privacy, and executive orders from a president who seems to act like monarch,
or whether you are on the right of the political spectrum and are hearing about the injustice of legal harassment of Christian business owners, judges and juries letting murderers and rapists off scott-free, tax-supported development of epidemic disease, government suppression of effective cures, and how your tax money pays bounties to professional assassins to murder children before they are born.
The weight we feel of injustice is a tremendous burden. What is a Christian to do with the growing anxiety and anger and hopelesness which all this injustice fuels inside us?
David is a man who experienced tremendous injustice in his lifetime. He was falsely accused of treason by his King, and, as a result, lost his wife, lost his home, lost his job, lost family members, and had to run for his life and live in a cave and beg for food. Later on, his sons tried to kill him and take over the throne, spreading slander about him and turning his friends against him. God appointed David to write Psalm 58 to show us the way forward through the terror and despair of injustice.
Read
my translation:
Is it truly righteousness that
y’all dictate, your honors? Is it from right principles that y’all
judge, children of man? Rather, in heart it is injustices that y’all
work out; y’all even-out the violence of your hands throughout the
land. Wicked men were strangers from conception; they went astray
right out of the womb, speaking falsehood. There belongs to them
venom like /that\ of a snake. Like the ear-less cobra, he shuts his
ear so that he will not listen to the sound of charmers /or\ to the
one who cunningly conjures spells.
God, demolish their fangs in
their mouth; break down the chewing-teeth of the young lions,
Yahweh! Let them be repelled, like water; let them go around to
their [place]. Let him draw his arrows as though they’ve been cut
off. Let him go away like the melting of /wax\ – [like] a woman’s
miscarriage they never view the sun. Before y’all’s pots can
detect whether the kindling is green [or] whether it’s
burning-well, He will frighten them away. The one who is righteous
will be happy when he has viewed justice; He will wash his /hands\
in the blood of the wicked. Then mankind will say, “Reward indeed
belongs to the one who is righteous; there is indeed a God who is
bringing justice [for them] on the earth!”
David begins to sort this problem out by asking if we can start approaching justice from the perspective of human beings. Is man a good starting point when we are talking about ethics?
Do human beings naturally say what is right and make right judgments?
The two key Hebrew words in verse 1 are eylem and adam.
You may recognize “Adam” as the name of the first man, and it is indeed the Hebrew word for “mankind” (which, by the way, includes women too).
Several contemporary versions mistakenly translated it “people,” which is an entirely different word in Hebrew, and does not carry the emphasis which I think David intended by the word “man” as the opposite of “God.”
Furthermore, most 21st century English versions translated “sons of man/people” as the object rather than the subject of the second half of verse 1 (“Do you judge the people rightly?”), but “sons of man” is actually the subject, not the object of “judge,” according to the Hebrew word order, grammar, and parallelism, so the KJV and NAS are correct in translating it, “Do you, O sons of man, judge rightly?”
But it amounts to the same question: “Do human beings always know what is just from what is unjust?”
The other key Hebrew word in v.1 is eylem, the meaning of which is debated.
According to the Masoretic Hebrew text that most English Bibles translate from, the root meaning of this word is “silent.”
That’s the reading of the New King James, and we can trace that meaning back through the 19th century Revised Version, the enlightenment-era manuscripts of the Aramaic Targums, all the way to Aquila’s Greek translation in the 2nd century AD.
But the Masoretic Hebrew text contains vowel pointings added in the Middle Ages. If you go back to the original consonantal Hebrew text, this word could also be interpreted as coming from the root word which means “strong,”
This meaning of “strength” was interpreted as mental certainty in almost all the ancient versions which predate the Middle Ages,
The English versions from around the time of the Reformation instead interpreted this strength in terms of “the force of the people” – the “congregation,”
And most contemporary versions interpret this “strength” in terms of political power: “rulers” or “gods” (with a lower case “g” to differentiate these lesser deities or magistrates from the one true God).
In David’s situation, “Absalom with his followers had made the administration of justice the means of stealing from David the heart of his people; he feigned to be the more impartial judge.” ~F. Delitzsch, 1867 AD
However strong man thinks he is, and however powerful he might be to judge and make decrees, man does not have the ultimate power of God; we are instead merely “children of men” with limited power. Verse 2 adds that not only is mankind’s power physically limited, it is morally limited too.
As David considers what he knows of human sociology, he concludes that it will never work to begin with mankind to establish justice, because human beings, from the time they are conceived, have an internal drive to do what is evil.
In the first half of verse 3, the Hebrew word racham, translated “womb/birth,” speaks of the circumstances in which a child is conceived. Long before we are born, he calls us “wicked” and “estranged,” that is, strangers to justice and righteousness and therefore separated from God.
Earlier in the Psalms, David commented: “[I]t was into iniquity [עון] that I was formed and into sin that my mother gestated me!” (Psalm 51:5, NAW) “Indeed everyone has regressed, together they have become tainted. There is no one who does good – there is not even one!” (Psalm 53:3, NAW, cf. Psalm 62:4, Isaiah 48:8, 59:4)
The apostle Paul explained in Romans 5:12 “[T]hrough one man [that is, Adam] sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men…” making us “sinners (5:8) and “enemies ...to God...” (5:10). (NKJV)
The whole human race has this problem of being morally broken and estranged from God, unable to make ourselves right.
And so, from the moment we are born, we “go astray” from God’s righteousness and justice and we “speak lies.”
We may not be able to speak very sophisticated lies as infants, but anyone who has raised an infant knows how quickly a baby learns to manipulate care-givers through exaggerated cries which communicate falsely the urgency of their problems. You’ve heard that wail that says, “How dare you set me down in my playpen and leave me to go cook dinner. I demand that you keep holding me. This is the last straw; it’s the end of my world!”
We also know how stubborn even infants can be when they set their will on one thing and refuse to submit to the better wisdom of their parents.
This is not learned behavior; the problem of original sin, according to David in v.2, comes straight out of a broken “heart,” inherited from Adam and Eve.
Jesus affirmed this in Mark 7:21-23 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” (NKJV)
David paints a disturbing word-picture in v.2 of civil magistrates, who are supposed to be making society better and punishing evil – who are supposed to be “balancing” the scales of justice, instead “laboring” intently to spread “violence” as evenly as possible “throughout all the earth.”
To be sure, there are some folks in government to whom God will give a fairly-accurate understanding of right and wrong and who will honestly try to punish evil justly, but mankind in general is so corrupted by sin that we cannot expect to get perfect justice in this world.
We may be able to bring a few things to rights here and there, but the problem of sin the hearts of humans is so catastrophic that it is insane (and it will drive you insane) to hope that mankind will fix everything or that any political movement will establish comprehensive justice.
Even David’s son wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:16 “Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there.” (NKJV)
The same picture is painted in the New Testament: Ephesians 2:3 “...we conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children1 of wrath... 12 without Christ, being aliens... and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world2.” (NKJV, cf. Eph. 4:18, Col. 1:21)
This is a pretty bleak outlook on mankind. Is David just exaggerating? Are we really that incapable of bringing about a just society? Can’t we find the tweaks here and there that will make everything better? No, says David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
Verses 4-5 compare sin to “snake-venom” that “burns” through a victim’s body, paralyzing and destroying as it goes.
In our natural state of estrangement from God – estrangement from God’s righteousness, we have the capacity to do great evil, whether or not we realize it.
I think v.5 is saying that the problem of human evil is not a problem which can be kept under control by human wisdom; it is like a poisonous snake that has gone berserk and nobody can control. He pictures snake-charmers chanting incantations and skillful wise-men doing their best to curb this wild, out-of-control cobra, but the cobra isn’t listening to anybody3 – it’s doing its own thing – it kills and eats living animals; that’s what it does, and that’s what it’s going to do.
The problem is, that serpent with all its venom, is inside your own heart. You are not safe from it. It cannot be controlled; it it out to destroy you.
Our condition is truly perilous. What would you do if you were hiking along a trail and a rattlesnake bit your friend’s leg? Would you say, “Aw, don’t be a sissy; it’s no big deal – after all, it’s only a snake-bite!” No! You’d treat it like an emergency and rush to get medical care to prevent your friend from getting terribly sick or dying.
The mental venom of rebellion against God, which Satan injected into Eve and Adam, and which they passed down to you, must be recognized as a perilous danger requiring urgent divine intervention.
In Psalm 140:3, David said that men with “evil in their hearts” are as deadly as “snakes...” “The poison of asps (עַכְשׁוּב) is under their lips...” (NKJV)
In Deuteronomy 32:33 God says that worshiping other gods besides Him is like “...the poison of serpents, And the cruel venom (ראשׁ) of cobras.” (NKJV)
In Matthew 23:33, Jesus called religious leaders who persecuted God’s prophets and did not heed God’s word “Snakes! Offspring4 of vipers (ἔχιδνα)! However can you escape the sentence of hell?” (NAW)
All this is to alert us to the imminent danger of our human situation. The solution to the problem of injustice does not lie in human agency. Those who look to man instead of God for righteousness and justice will perish. Our only recourse is to cry out to God for divine help and deliverance from evil, and that’s what David models for us in verses 6 and following.
The verb for “break” at the beginning of verse 6 was also used in the Israelite’s victory song after Pharaoh’s army was drowned in the Red Sea: Exodus 15:7 “[T]hou hast broken the adversaries to pieces: thou sentest forth thy wrath, it devoured them as stubble.” (Brenton)
Here in this Psalm, it’s about God “breaking down/shattering/demolishing the fangs” of the cobra or perhaps the “front teeth” of a threatening lion (V.6 switches from the unjust men being “snakes” to them being “young lions.”)
In the second half of verse 6, David prays for God to “break down/tear out” their back teeth (in addition to their front teeth), so that the enemy’s threat is neutralized – no more teeth!
In Psalm 17:12 and Psalm 57:4, David compared his oppressors to lions with sharp teeth who were looking for an opportunity to take advantage of him.5
So he calls out to God to make those teeth unable to perpetrate injustice. Likewise, when we pray, we should identify what tools wicked people are using to commit injustice and pray for God to break those tools. We can also pray for God to cause wicked people in power to simply go away.
In verse 7, the metaphor changes again from “lions” to “water,” as David asks God to remove the presence of those who are being wicked. He likens his request to the way water runs to the ground and flows away.
If you were all to throw water balloons at me right now, it would get me wet, but it wouldn’t be life-threatening – I wouldn’t be terrified of drowning, because water flows down to the lowest ground level.
God had done something like that before to the wicked Canaanites, and now David asks God to do it again. Notice how Rahab used the word “melt” when she related to Joshua and Caleb the sentiments of the Canaanites as the Hebrews came in to take over the Promised Land: “[O]ur hearts melted6; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” (Joshua 2:11, NKJV, cf. Ezek. 21:7)
Next, in the second half of verse 7, the metaphor changes again, this time to weaponry. David asks God to sabotage their ammunition. The closest thing they had to guns back in David’s time was bows and arrows, and, according to Psalm 11:27, they were using bows and arrows against David, so here David asks God to “cut in pieces/blunt/cut off the heads of their arrows,” once again identifying the tools of oppression and asking God to neutralize them.
Those of you who have been around for several years may remember the demonstration I did with an arrow that had a field practice tip and an arrow with a razor-tipped broad-head. The blunt practice tip bounced right off the piece of wood I shot at, but the broad-head embedded pretty well into the wood. David is asking God to prevent the tools of the wicked from causing harm.
I’m reminded of the comment in Exodus 14:25, when the Egyptian army in their chariots tried to overtake the Hebrews as they were escaping through the Red Sea. It says that God “jammed” (NET Bible) their chariot wheels – caused them to “swerve” (NASB) and their wheels to “come off” (KJV/NIV). God can do that!
There’s a story in our own nation’s history where the French induced American Indian marksmen to assassinate George Washington during the Battle of Monongahela. Washington finished the battle with bullet-holes all over his clothes and hat, but not a single wound on his body – he attributed it to God’s protection!
V.8 provides yet two more word-pictures of what David is asking God to do concerning those who are perpetrating injustice:
The first one in v.8 is something that melts and goes away. This Hebrew word appears nowhere else in the Bible, so there is some uncertainty about its meaning.
All the ancient versions of the Bible translated this word as “wax,” due to the recognized root meaning of “melting,”
but all the modern English translations followed the Jewish tradition of interpreting it as a “snail/slug.”
Now, I’ve seen trails of slime on the ground left behind by a snail, but I’ve never actually seen one melt, so I have my questions, but David’s request is clear, at least, that God will cause the wicked to quietly melt away and leave the scene and stop causing trouble.
The other word picture is that of a “stillborn” child.
David knew what it was like to miscarry a child because he and Bathsheba lost their first child together.
But he knew that with a loss like that, you don’t have public viewings, you don’t have a big funeral parade, you don’t have a lot of fuss, you just move on, and I think that is what David is seeing in common with the wax or slug melting is that they go away quietly, and that’s what David is praying the wicked will do. No big battles, no heated debates, just make them go away and stop causing trouble.
In v.9, David expresses his faith that indeed...
Yet another word picture comes up in verse 9 – having to do with using thorn-bushes to kindle a fire to cook over.
Remember that David is camping out in the wilderness, so he probably had to start cooking-fires every day.
It won’t work to hold a match next to a big log to try to start a campfire, rather, you want to start a fire with small stuff which can catch fire easily – we call that kindling, and, in that part of the world, brambles apparently made good kindling to get a fire quickly up to cooking temperature. The trade-off is that thorns and other kinds of kindling don’t have much mass or density, so they burn to ashes very quickly (Eccl. 7:6) and then your fire can go out. Also, if your kindling is wet or still green, it won’t light as quickly and it will make a lot of smoke, but if it’s dry, it will burn quickly and get hot.
I think what we have here is a figure of speech which is similar in meaning to “quick as a flash” or “in three shakes of a lamb’s tail” or “in a New York minute.” With faith in God, David is assuring himself that it won’t be long before God answers his prayer and those who are committing injustice will be swept out of power.
In David’s case, it took a little while before King Saul died and David was able to institute a more godly and just reign as king, but David was confident that God would bring that about in the right time.
And he is telling us that we too can confidently wait on God to intervene and bring about the breakthrough in justice that we need, in a timely way, after we have asked God for it.
The Scriptures remind us often that God has done this before and will do it again:
Job 27:19-21 “The rich man shall lie down, and shall not continue: he has opened his eyes, and he is not. Pains have come upon him as water, and darkness has carried him away by night. And a burning wind shall catch him, and he shall depart, and it shall utterly drive him out of his place.” (Brenton, cf. 21:18)
Proverbs 10:25 “When the whirlwind (סופה) passes by, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.” (NKJV)
Isaiah 40:23-24 To whom can you compare God? “He is the one who stretches distinguished men to non-existence, judges of earth He makes like the void. Surely they were never sown, surely they were never planted, surely their stem never took root in the earth, yet even He blew on them and they wither and the tempest carries them up like the stubble.” (NAW, cf. 17:13)
Then, what should you do when God has answered your prayer and brought deliverance to you?
You should be happy/be glad! Not that the wicked are suffering but rejoice that Jesus is King and will always do what is right and just!
Psalm 32:11 “Be happy in Yahweh, and rejoice, you who are righteous, and sing out, all of y'all who are justified inside!” (NAW)
Deuteronomy 32:43 “[R]ejoice ye Gentiles, with his people, and let all the sons of God strengthen themselves in him; for he will avenge the blood of his sons, and he will render vengeance, and recompense justice to his enemies…” (Brenton)
Isaiah 35:4 “Say to the hasty of heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear, see your God! Vengeance will come – God's payback! He Himself will come, and He will save you.’” (NAW)
Jeremiah 11:20 “But, O LORD of hosts, You who judge righteously, Testing the mind and the heart, Let me see Your vengeance on them, For to You I have revealed my cause.” (NKJV)
The bit about “bathing/washing feet/hands in the blood of the wicked” is not describing any kind of grotesque ceremony; it is merely mentioning that the righteous may have some part in the execution of justice upon the wicked.
There is a parallel in Psalm 68:20-23 “Our God is the God of salvation; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death. But God will wound the head of His enemies, The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses. The Lord said, ‘I will bring back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, That your foot8 may crush them in blood, And the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.’” (NKJV)
It seems to have an initial fulfillment in the death of King Ahab (and Queen Jezebel), of whom 1 Kings 22:38 says “[T]he dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the LORD...” (NKJV)
But it is ultimately fulfilled by the Messiah, when Jesus the “Righteous One” comes to judge the earth.
Isaiah 63:1-4 prophecies this: “Who is this coming from Edom, garments garishly-stained from Bozrah – this one majestic in His clothing, bulging with the greatness of His strength? It's me speaking in righteousness, great to save! Why red for your clothes, and your garments like one who treads in a winepress? I have trodden the crushing-trough alone, and there was not a man with me from the peoples, and I trod them in my anger, and I trampled them in my fury, and their vigor sprinkled upon my garments, and I defiled all my clothes. For a day of vengeance was in my heart and the year of my redeemed ones came.” (NAW)
And in Revelation 14:20 there is so much blood from the wicked who are killed by Jesus that the blood flows across the earth for 200 miles in a wave as high as a horse’s head!9
Such gore is not pleasant to dwell on, but it is necessary part of justice if injustice is to be punished. Those who have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus redeeming them from their sins will not have to pay for their unrighteousness with their own blood, and for that we can rejoice. We can be mighty glad that Jesus will serve up both salvation to us and justice to the whole world!
But the story doesn’t stop with you. It is not enough that you see justice served. The end of the process, according to God’s will, is that other people get the good news!
The bottom line in verse 11 is not that the righteous are vindicated, but that the world glorifies God for His justice and mercy!
And how will mankind find out that “there is a God who judges justly” and provides “reward” for righteousness? By observing us :
as we suffer while obeying God,
as we pray for God’s salvation and justice,
and then as we rejoice in the outcomes of God’s justice and mercy.
Deuteronomy 32:43 “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and His people.” (NKJV)
Psalm 67:4 “Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern the nations on earth. Selah” (NKJV, cf. 9:8, 96:13, 98:9, Eccl. 12:14, Isa. 3:10, 40:10)
So what should we do when we feel anxiety about injustice?
Don’t look to mankind to solve these problems; ask God to judge.
Pray for God to render useless the tools of oppression which the wicked use, and pray for God to remove the wicked from power.
Trust that God will bring justice in good time, and be joyful when He does bring justice.
Then let the world know about our God who delivers those He has made right and judges evil.
DouayB (Vulgate) |
LXXC
|
BrentonD (Vaticanus) |
KJVE (1769) |
NASBF (1995) |
NIVG |
ESVH (2025) |
NAW (2026) |
HebrewI |
BauscherJ |
E.M.CookK |
1 Unto the endL, destroy not, for David, for an inscription of a titleM. |
1 Εἰς τὸ τέλος· μὴ διαφθείρῃς· τῷ Δαυιδ εἰς στηλογραφίαν. |
1a For the end. Destroy not: by David, for a memorial. |
1a To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David. |
1a For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David. |
1a For the director of music. To [the tune of] "Do Not Destroy." Of David. A miktam. |
1a To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David. |
1 /For the concertmaster, to "Do Not Destroy," by David, a journal.\ |
לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ |
|
1. For praise; [concerning the distress in the time when David said,] “Do no harm”; composed by David, humble and innocent. |
2
If in |
2
Εἰ ἀληθῶς |
1b
If ye do indeed speak righteousness,
|
1b Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? |
1b Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men? |
1b
Do you rulers
indeed
speak justly?
Do you judge uprightly
|
1b Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? |
Is it truly righteousness that y’all dictate, your honors? Is it from right principles that y’all judge, children of man? |
ב הַאֻמְנָ֗ם אֵ֣לֶםP צֶ֭דֶק תְּדַבֵּר֑וּן מֵישָׁרִ֥ים תִּ֝שְׁפְּט֗וּ בְּנֵ֣יQ אָדָֽם׃ |
1 Whether truly you X are speaking righteousness [and] integrity, you judge, oh, children of men! |
2. In very truth are you silent, [O righteous ones, in the time of strife? It is fitting that] you speak righteousness, that you judge uprightly the sons of men. |
3 For in [yourR] heart you work iniquity[:] your hands forge injustice in the earth. |
3 καὶ γὰρ ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀνομίας ἐργάζεσθε ἐν τῇ γῇ, ἀδικίαν αἱ χεῖρες ὑμῶν συμπλέκουσινS. |
2 For ye work iniquities in [your] heart[s] in the earth: your hands plot unrighteousness. |
2 Yea, in heart ye work wickednessX[;] ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. |
2 No, in heart you work unrighteousnessX[;] On earth you weigh out the violence of your hands. |
2 No, in [your] heart you devise injusticeX[,] and your hands mete out violence on the earth. |
2 No, in [your] heart[s] you devise wrongs[;] your hands deal out violence on earth. |
2 Rather, in heart it is injustices that y’all work out; y’all even-out the violence of your hands throughout the land. |
ג Tאַף־בְּלֵב֮ עוֹלֹ֢תU תִּפְעָ֫ל֥וּןV בָּאָ֡רֶץ חֲמַ֥ס יְ֝דֵיכֶ֗ם תְּפַלֵּסֽוּןW׃ |
2
|
3.
But,
[O wicked, wherefore] do you commit iniquityX
in the heart[, wherefore] do
your hands |
4
The wicked |
4 ἀπηλλοτριώθησαν οἱ ἁμαρτωοὶ ἀπὸ μήτρας, ἐπλανήθησαν ἀπὸ γαστρός, ἐλάλησανY ψεύδη. |
3
Sinners have
gone astray from the womb: they
|
3
The wicked |
3
The wicked |
3
[Even]
from birth the wicked |
3
The wicked |
3 Wicked men were strangers from conception; they went astray right out of the womb, speaking falsehood. |
ד זֹ֣רוּ רְשָׁעִ֣ים מֵרָ֑חֶם תָּע֥וּ מִ֝בֶּ֗טֶן דֹּבְרֵ֥י כָזָֽב׃ |
3
The evil |
4. The wicked have become strangers from birth; [those who] utter falsehood have gone astray from the womb. |
5
Their madness is according to the |
5
θυμὸς αὐτοῖς κατὰ τὴν |
4
Their venom is like |
4
Their poison
is
like the poison of a serpent: they
are like the deaf adder that
stoppeth |
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent; Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear, |
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a X cobra that has stopped its ear[s], |
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, |
4 There belongs to them venom like /that\ of a snake. Like the ear-less cobra, he shuts his ear |
ה חֲמַת־לָ֗מוֹ כִּדְמ֥וּת ABחֲמַת־נָחָ֑שׁ כְּמוֹ־פֶ֥תֶן חֵ֝רֵ֗שׁAC יַאְטֵ֥ם אׇזְנֽוֹ׃ |
4 Their venom is like X a snake's [or that of a cockatrice, or] like a deaf asp that covers its ear[s]. |
5.
Poison is theirs like the poison of the serpent; like the deaf
adder |
6 Which will not hear the voice of the charmers; [nor] of the wizardX that charmeth wisely. |
6
ἥτιςAD
οὐκ εἰσακούσεται φωνὴν ἐπᾳδόντων
φαρμάκ |
5 which will not hear the voice of charmers, [nor heed the] charmX prepared skillfully by the wise. |
5
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming
|
5 So that it does not hear the voice of charmers, Or a skillful caster of spells. |
5 that will not heed the tune of the charmerX, [however] skillful the enchanter X may be. |
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers [or] of the cunning enchanter X. |
5 so that he will not listen to the sound of charmers /or\ to the one who cunningly conjures spells. |
ו
אֲשֶׁ֣ר |
5 That will not hear the voice of the charmerX [or] conjurer X [or] of a wise man. |
6.
|
7 God shall break in pieces their teeth inAF their mouth: the Lord shall breakAG the grinders of the lions. |
7 ὁ θεὸς συνέτριψεν τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν, τὰς μύλας τῶν λεόντων συνέθλασεν κύριος. |
6 God has crushed their teeth in their mouth: God has broken the cheek-teeth of the lions. |
6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. |
6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. |
6 Break theX teeth in their mouth[s], O God; tear out, O LORD, the fangs of the lions! |
6 O God, break theX teeth in their mouth[s]; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! |
6 God, demolish their fangs in their mouth; break down the chewing-teeth of the young lions, Yahweh! |
ז
אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים |
6
God will shatter their
teeth in their mouthsAJ
[and] LORD
JEHOVAH |
7. O God, smash their teeth in their mouth; [and] shatter the fangs of the lions’ [offspring], O Lord. |
Douay (Vulgate) |
LXX
|
Brenton (Vaticanus) |
KJV (1769) |
NASB (1995) |
NIV |
ESV (2025) |
NAW (2026) |
Hebrew |
Bauscher |
E.M.Cook |
8
They
shall come to nothing, like water
running
down; he hath bent his |
8
ἐξουδενωθήσονταιAK
ὡς ὕδωρ διαπορευόμενον·
ἐντενεῖ τὸ |
7
They
shall utterly pass away like
water running
through:
he shall bend his |
7 Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut [in pieces]. |
7 Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless [shafts]. |
7
Let
them vanish like water that
flows
away;
when |
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be X blunted. |
7 Let them be repelled, like water; let them go around to their [place]. Let him draw his arrows as though they’ve been cut off. |
ח יִמָּאֲס֣וּAM כְמוֹ־מַ֭יִם יִתְהַלְּכוּ־לָ֑מוֹ יִדְרֹ֥ךְ חִ֝צָּ֗וAN כְּמ֣וֹ יִתְמֹלָֽלוּ׃ |
7
They will be rejected
like waters that are
thrown out and he
will shoot his arrows |
8.
Let them dissolve [in
their sins]; like water, let
them flow away; [and] he draws X arrows [at them,] |
9
Like wax
that melteth they shall |
9
ὡσεὶ κηρὸς ὁ
τακεὶς |
8
|
8 As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. |
8 Let them be as a snail which melts away [as] it goes along, Like the miscarriage[s] of a woman which never see the sun. |
8
Like a slug melting away [as]
it moves along, [like]
a stillborn
|
8
Let |
8 Let him go away like the melting of /wax\ – [like] a woman’s miscarriage they never view the sun. |
ט כְּמ֣וֹ שַׁ֭בְּלוּלAQ תֶּ֣מֶס יַהֲלֹ֑ךְ ARנֵ֥פֶל ASאֵ֗֝שֶׁת ATבַּל־חָ֥זוּ שָֽׁמֶשׁ׃ |
8
Like wax that is melted
[and falls before the fire], |
9.
Like the |
10
Before your thorns could know the brier; he swalloweth
them up,
as alive, |
10
πρὸ τοῦ συνιέναι τὰς ἀκάνθας ὑμῶν
τὴν ῥάμνον, ὡσεὶ ζῶντας ὡσεὶ |
9
Before your thorns feelAU
the white thorn, he shall swallowAV
|
9
Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take
them away
[as
with a whirlwind],
|
9 Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away [with a whirlwind], X the green [and] the burning alike. |
9
Before your pots can feel [the
heat of the]
thorns - whether
they be green or dry - |
9 Sooner than your pots can feel [the heat of] thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away! |
9 Before y’all’s pots can detect whether the kindling is green [or] whether it’s burning-well, He will frighten them away. |
י בְּטֶ֤רֶם ׀ יָבִ֣ינוּ סִּירֹתֵכֶ֣ם אָטָ֑ד כְּמוֹ־חַ֥י כְּמוֹ־חָ֝ר֗וֹןAW יִשְׂעָרֶֽנּוּAX׃ |
9
X Let |
10.
Before the |
11 The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge: he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner. |
11 εὐφρανθήσεται δίκαιος, ὅταν ἴδῃ ἐκδίκησιν [ἀσεβῶν]· τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ νίψεται ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ. |
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance [of the ungodly]: he shall wash his handsAY in the blood of the sinner. |
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. |
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. |
10
The righteous will be glad when |
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. |
10 The one who is righteous will be happy when he has viewed justice; He will wash his /hands\ in the blood of the wicked. |
יא יִשְׂמַ֣ח צַ֭דִּיק כִּי־חָזָ֣ה נָקָ֑ם פְּעָמָ֥יו יִ֝רְחַ֗ץ בְּדַ֣ם הָרָשָֽׁע׃ |
10 The Righteous One will rejoice, who sees the vengeance, and he will wash his hands in the blood of the wicked. |
11. The righteous will rejoice, for he has seen retribution [on them]; he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked man. |
12 And man shall say: If indeed there be fruit to the just: there is indeed a God that judgeth [them] on the earth. |
12 καὶ ἐρεῖ ἄνθρωπος Εἰ ἄραAZ ἔστιν καρπὸς τῷ δικαίῳ, ἄρα ἐστὶν ὁ θεὸς κρίνων [αὐτοὺς] ἐν τῇ γῇ. |
11 And a man shall say, Verily then there is a reward for the righteous: verily there is a God that judges [them] in the earth. |
11
So that a man shall say, Verily there
is a reward for the
righteous:
verily |
11 And men will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!" |
11
Then men will say, "Surely the righteous
[still]
|
11 X Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.” |
11 Then mankind will say, “Reward indeed belongs to the one who is righteous; there is indeed a God who is bringing justice [for them] on the earth!” |
יב
וְיֹאמַ֣ר אָ֭דָם |
11 A [son of] man shall say, "There is truly a reward for the righteous; it is God who shall judge [them] in the Earth.” |
12. And [the sons of] men will say, “Truly there is a [good] reward for the righteous, truly there is a God whose judg[m]e[nt]s [extend] to the earth.” |
1τεκνα, a synonym to υἱοὶ/בני in Psalm 58:1.
2κόσμῳ, a synonym to γῇ/ארץ in Psalm 58:2.
3Metsudath David suggested that the “closed ears” meant deafness to the whisperings of conscience.
4γεννήματα, another synonym to υἱοὶ/בני in Psalm 58:1.
5Psalm
17:12 “As for his likeness, he is like a lion longing to tear
and like a young lion dwelling in hiding places.”
Psalm
57:4 “You delivered my soul from among lionesses (לבאם)...
As for the sons of men, their teeth are spears and arrows,
and their tongue a sharp sword.” (NAW)
6ימס (from מסס), a synonym to ימאסו (from מאס) in Psalm 58:7.
7“Because, look, the wicked men will bend a bow, they set upon string their arrow to shoot through gloom toward those who are upright of heart.” (NAW)
8רגל, the literal word for foot, synonymous with the figurative word פעמיו in Psalm 58:10.
9“And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.” (NKJV)
AWhen
a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not
indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text),
I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses
a wording which is different from all the other translations, I
underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in
my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the
Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original
text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a
word which is in the original text, I insert an X. (I also place an
X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the
English translation is singular.) I occasionally use colors to help
the reader see correlations between the various editions and
versions when there are more than two different translations of a
given word. No known Dead Sea Scroll contains Psalm 58. Where
ancient versions support each other against the MT in such a way
that I suspect they are the original reading, I have highlighted
them with
yellow.
BDouay Old Testament first published by the English College at Douay, A.D. 1609, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword Aug 5, 2026.
CThe Septuagint (LXX), edited by Alfred Rahlfs. Published in 1935; public domain. As published on E-Sword Aug 5, 2026
DEnglish translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, 1851, “based upon the text of the Vaticanus” but not identical to the Vaticanus. As published on E-Sword Aug 5, 2026
E1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published electronically by E-Sword Aug 8, 2019.
FScripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
GThe Holy Bible, New International Version Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
HThis publication contains The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright ©2001, 2016, 2025 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV® Text Edition: 2025. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.
IFrom
the Wiki Hebrew Bible
https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8_%D7%AA%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D.
DSS text comes from https://downloads.thewaytoyahuweh.com
JThe Peshitta Holy Bible Translated by Glenn David Bauscher, Copyright © 2018 Lulu Publishing, 3rd edition Copyright © 2019 as found on https://biblehub.com/hpbt/psalms/58.htm
KThe Psalms Targum: An English Translation, by Edward M. Cook, © 2001 Edward M. Cook. As found on http://targum.info/pss/ps2.htm
Lcf. Aquila: “To the conqueror”
Mcf. Aquila: “of a lowly end”
Ncf.
Aquila: “They did not speak truly in unspoken righteousness, did
they?”
Symmachus: “Therefore truly of a right tribe
y’all must speak.”
Ocf. Aq. “speechless”
PAs the MT punctuates it, the root meaning of this word is “silent” (which is the interpretation of the Targums, Aquila, Rashi, the RV, ASV and NKJV), but without the punctuation added in the Middle Ages, the consonants could also be interpreted as coming from the root word which means “strong,” which was taken in the direction of “indeed/then/certainly” by all the ancient versions which predate the Middle Ages, and in the direction of “the force of the people” by the old English versions Geneva/KJV = “congregation” (cf. Symmachus “tribe,” Kimchi “company”), and in the direction of “strong leaders” by the NASB/ESV = “gods” (G. Wilson interpreted it literally as “gods” and redefined the whole psalm as a defense of monotheism over polytheism!) and NIV/NET/NLT = “rulers” (cf. Houbigant, J. D. Michaelis, Mendelssohn, Delitzsch) although it is not the Hebrew word for “congregation” or “ruler.” BHQ weighed in favor of inserting a yod as the second letter to force the meaning to be “gods.”
QDelitzsch,
NET, NIV2011, NLT, and Holman/CSB interpreted this as the object
(“you judge the sons of men” – and NIV & NLT went even
further off-base by translating “men” as “people,” which is
a totally different word in Hebrew, and the The 1984 NIV went even
further afield by mistranslating “sons” בני
as though
the last two letters were reversed “among” בינ.),
but it is in the subject position in Hebrew, and its parallel in the
verse is the vocative “gods/judges” (which all versions agree is
the subject of the first half of the verse). The Vulgate, Peshitta,
Targums, Geneva, KJV, NKJV, RV/ESV, ASV/NASB make it vocative (“O
children of men, do you judge…”).
cf. Psalm
82:1-2
“God stands in the congregation (עֲדַת)
of the mighty;
He judges
among the gods.
How
long will you judge
unjustly,
And show partiality to the wicked?”
(NKJV)
Micah
3:9
“Listen now to this, you heads of the house of Jacob and leaders
(קְצִינֵי)
of the house of Israel: You who despise justice
indeed distort all that is right...”
(NAW)
RThere is not actually a possessive “your” with the word “heart” in the Hebrew, Latin, or Greek. It’s just hard to convey in English without it.
Sσυμπλέκουσιν “they weave together” cf. Aquilla: διασταθμιζετε “Y’all weigh out,” Theodotian: διασταθμιζουσιν “They weigh out,” Symmachus: ερευνατε “y’all search out.”
TThis word was employed in previous Psalms in 44:9, 18:49, and 16:6-9.
UThis is a plural Hebrew form, and the LXX, Vulgate, and ESV render it plural. The Targums and Peshitta, however, rendered it singular, followed by most English versions. The parallel word later in the verse, however, is singular, so it is not an important point.
VMasoretic cantillation puts the major punctuation here, associating “in the earth” with the first half of the verse (as the LXX & Peshitta did) and not the second half of the verse (as all the English versions do).
WKJV, RV, and ASV/NASB are correct; this is the 2nd masculine plural form “y’all balance.” All the ancient versions, however, read 3rd person feminine plural, “Y’all’s hands balance,” and most English versions followed. (NET & NLT got the subject correct but removed “hands.”)
XThe first two letters of the Hebrew morpheme for “in heart” look similar to the Hebrew word for “all.”
YSymmachus in the 2nd century AD corrected the indicative in the LXX to a participle form (“speaking”) which matches the MT.
ZThe Greek verb tense is Aorist, matching the Hebrew perfect tense, so better translated “they went.”
AASymmachus dropped the “and” here. The MT has no conjunction.
ABAll the manuscripts which predate the MT do not contain this word, but since they are all translations into other languages, it is debated whether the repetition was not there to be translated by the LXX, Peshitta, and Jerome or whether all the ancient translators chose to omit the repetition in the same way. The former seems more likely both to me and to the BHQ editors. This word usually means “hot fury/rage/anger,” but is associated with venom in reptiles three times in the Bible (here, Psalm 140:3, and Deut. 32:24&33).
ACNowhere else in the Bible is this condition of deafness applied to an animal. Cobras do not have ears, but they are able to perceive sound vibrations. The verb which follows only occurs 8 times in the Bible, four to describe window “shutters,” three to “shutting” ears, and one to “shutting” lips. A different Hebrew word is used to describe “shutting” eyes or doors.
ADSymmachus: ‘ινα μη ακουση φωνην ψιθυριζοντων “In order that it might not hear the voice of the whisperers.” (underlined words are different from the LXX, but both translations are allowable from the Hebrew text.)
AEThe root of both this verb and this noun has to do with “company/association,” but the only other place this verb–noun phrase occurs is Deuteronomy 18:11, where it is in the context of witchcraft. Gerald Wilson suggested that the repetition of the roots indicated superlative state “the most-eminent charmers.”
AFVulgate reads “in,” which is consistent with the MT, LXX, and Peshitta, but Jerome’s later translation direct from Hebrew was “out of.”
AGcf. Aq. “uproot”
AHAll English versions follow the MT pointing which makes this (and the parallel verb in this verse) imperative, but the ancient versions which were translated before the MT pointing was added, did not interpret these two verbs as imperatives but rather as indicatives (“God has broken/will break…”). Whether this is a prayer or a statement of faith in God’s justice is not that different.
AIHapex Legomenon. If you switch the second and third letter (which is not uncommon following a mem as the first letter), you get a word used in Job 29:17; Pro. 30:14; Joel 1:6 for lion’s teeth used for chewing/grinding. This probably refers to the teeth at the back of the mouth, whereas the word for “teeth” earlier in the verse probably refer to the piercing/biting teeth in the front of the mouth.
AJI think the Peshitta is actually singular. It is spelled exactly the same in the Targums.
AKcf. Sym. διαλυθητωσαν “Let them be dissolved”
ALAlternately, Symmachus rendered the last phrase “Let there be turmoil like those who are crushed.”
AMThis is the only place in the Bible where this verb is translated “melt” in the Bible. Everywhere else it is translated “despise/abhor/reject/cast away” and the like. I suggest that we not make an exception here because the verb “repelled” works fine here.
ANMasoretic Scribes indicated that there was uncertainty as to whether the “arrow” should be singular (חִצּוֹ - Kethib) or plural (חִצָּיו - Qere). The Syriac and Targums chose the plural form, followed by all the English versions. The Vulgate and LXX chose the singular and changed it to “bow.” The NET chose to depart from every translation previous with, “Let them wither like grass,” which requires omitting the verb “he treads/draws” and changing the final letter of “his arrows” to render it חָצִיר (“grass”).
AOInstead of the LXX (and Theodotion’s) “wax that melts,” Aquilla rendered “earth in the intestine melts and goes away,” and Symmachus rendered “Like the bag of waters when dissolved...”
APIn the 2nd Century AD, Aquilla, Symmachus, and Theodotian agreed that this should be instead be translated εκτρωμα γυναικος “miscarriage of a woman.”
AQBoth this word and the next are Hapex Legomena (used nowhere else in the Bible), so naturally there is some question as to their meaning. The LXX, Vulgate, and Peshitta all translated this word as “wax,” due to the recognized root meaning of “melting,” but it isn’t the word for “wax” employed anywhere else (דּוֹנַג is used in Ps. 21:15, 67:3, 96:5, and Mic. 1:4). All the English translations followed the Jewish interpretation of “snail/slug,” but, while I have seen their trails of slime, I have never actually seen one “melt,” so I am hesitant to advance that interpretation.
ARTheodotion, Jerome, and Targums added a second “like” here, and most English versions followed suit. It is understood from the text. As for the word nefel, it is only used in two other places: Job 3:16 & Eccl. 6:3, both of which are consistent with a stillborn child.
ASAll the ancient versions predating the MT (LXX, Vulgate, and Peshitta) read “fire” (which shares the same first two letters as the Hebrew word for “woman”). How the NIV, NET, ESV, and NLT turned “woman” into “child/babies” is inexplicable. The Targums’ rendering “mole” may be related to a molar pregnancy which is essentially a pregnancy without a fetus. “Miscarriage of a woman” requires no semantic gymnastics to arrive at, and it makes so much sense, that it’s hard to understand why it was arrived at only relatively-recently. This points to the strong possibility that the original Hebrew text may have been different, but we don’t have any Hebrew text older than the 800’s AD.
ATAll
the ancient versions include the word “and” here, although it is
not in the MT.
Compare the final phrase of this verse with the
synonymous phrase in Job 3:16 ...לא־ראו
אור.
AULiterally “understand,” but “feel” works. Symmachus rendered the verb “grow,” but that’s not right.
AVTheodotian agreed with “swallow,” but Aquilla and Symmachus rendered it “blow away in a storm.”
AWDelitzsch, following Hengstenberg (and Kimchi) explained thus: “‘To the raw meat correspond the immature plots, and to the cooked the mature ones.’ To us, who regard the Psalm as belonging to the time of Absalom, and not, like Hengstenberg, to the time of Saul, the meat in the pots is the new kingship of Absalom.”
AXThis
verb is fairly rare, occurring only half a dozen more times (Deut.
32:17, Job 27:21, Ps. 50:3, Jer. 2:12, Ezek. 27:35, 32:10, Dan.
11:40) and every time it is Qal, it is translated as some sort of
action of “fear.” This is the only passage where anyone
translates it “sweep away,” which is suspicious to me.
LXX/Vulgate translate “swallow down” and Peshitta “trouble,”
so this appears to be another Jewish tradition brought into modern
English versions.
The pronoun here is singular, but most
translations render it plural to match the plural “you” who own
the “pots” (cf. the “you” in vs. 1 & 2) or “them”
(the “wicked” from v.3, also designated by the third person
plural pronoun in vs. 4-7). It is common in Hebrew to interchange a
singular pronoun when speaking of a plural third party.
AY2nd Century Greek translators corrected to “feet,” but “hands” is in the Vulgate, LXX, and Peshitta, so it is possibly a pre-2nd century textual tradition.
AZAquilla & Theodotian rendered this πλην (“however”), and Symmachus rendered it αληθως (“truly”).
BAViz same root in v.1. It appears that either there was a pronoun (“judging them”) in the ancient Hebrew text that the Vulgate, LXX, and Peshitta translated from, or (more likely) that all the ancient versions interpreted the plural yod-mem ending on this participle (“judging”) as a suffixed 3pm pronoun.