Psalms 58

David confronts corrupt rulers who twist justice and crush the weak. He describes how deep their evil runs, then asks God to stop them and bring their power to nothing. The psalm ends with the certainty that God does judge the earth, and that the righteous will see it.

Psalms 58:1

David opens with a sharp question to those in authority. Do they really speak what is right? Do they judge people fairly? The question is a rebuke. It expects the answer no, and it reminds every judge that justice is a trust from God.

BSA: rulers (“leaders, congregation”): These are people who sit in public authority, and the word can also point to an assembly gathered to decide cases.

See also: Psalm 82:1-4.

Psalms 58:2

The answer is no. The injustice begins in the heart as a plan, and the hands then carry it out as violence. Corrupt judgment is never an accident. It is chosen, and it harms real people across the land.

BSA: devise (“plan, work”): The wrong is deliberate and worked out ahead of time, not a sudden slip. mete out (“weigh, execute”): Judges ought to weigh a case carefully, but these men weigh out violence as if it were their official duty.

Hebrew: תְּפַלֵּסוּן (tefallesun, H6424) — “you weigh out, you level.” This is the language of the scales. The rulers use the tools of justice to hand out violence.

Psalms 58:3

David describes how deep human sin goes. The wicked turn away early and speak lies from their first days. This is poetic exaggeration, but it points to a bent in human nature that shows itself very young. Only God’s grace can mend it.

BSA: estranged (“sinners from birth, estranged”): They have drifted away from God and from what is right, like people who have become strangers to their own family.

See also: Psalm 51:5.

Psalms 58:4

Their words and deeds are compared to snake venom. The evil is hidden, deadly and spreads harm. Like a cobra that blocks its ears, they refuse any correction. Their trouble is not that they cannot hear. They will not.

BSA: venom (“poison, destructive influence”): Their influence poisons everything it touches, as a snake’s bite does. cobra (“deaf adder, unresponsive to truth”): The picture is of a creature that will not respond, however it is called.

Hebrew: חֲמַת (chamat, H2534) — “venom, burning heat.” The Hebrew word also means heat or rage. Venom burns through the body, and so does their anger.

Psalms 58:5

A snake charmer plays a skilled tune, but this snake will not be moved. In the same way the wicked rulers refuse every wise appeal, whether from conscience, from friends or from God. Hardened hearts can grow deaf to the very voice that would save them.

BSA: charmer (“enchanter, snake charmer”): Even a skilled expert cannot reach someone who has decided not to listen.

See also: Proverbs 29:1.

Psalms 58:6

David now prays, calling on God by two names. He asks God to break the teeth and fangs of those who tear at the weak. This is not private revenge. He is asking the true Judge to stop violent men from doing further harm.

BSA: fangs (“great teeth, sharp jaws”): The wicked are like predators, and David asks that the means of their cruelty be taken away. lions (“young lions, fierce predators”): The picture shifts from the snake to the lion, to show their strength and hunger to devour.

Hebrew: הֲרָס (haros, H2040) — “tear down, break.” The verb means to break something hard. David asks God to disarm them completely.

Psalms 58:7

Two more pictures follow. Water that drains into dry ground is soon gone, and a bow with blunted arrows can no longer wound. David asks that the wicked lose their power and their reach. Their strength is only borrowed and lasts only as long as God permits.

BSA: vanish (“melt away, disappear”): The wicked will not stand firm. They will drain away like water. blunted (“made blunt, cut off”): Their weapons will fail, and their attacks will fall harmlessly.

Psalms 58:8

More pictures of a life that comes to nothing. A slug seems to melt away as it moves, and a stillborn child never sees the daylight. David asks that the schemes of the wicked end with nothing to show for them.

BSA: slug (“snail, that melteth”): The creature seems to waste away as it goes, just as the wicked waste away as they work their schemes. stillborn child (“that hath not seen the sun”): The child never sees the light of day, and so the wicked never get to enjoy what they aimed at.

Psalms 58:9

This verse is hard to translate, but the sense is clear: God’s judgment will come swiftly, before anyone expects it. As a sudden fire under the pots whirls away thorns, green or dry, so God will sweep the wicked away. He is never too slow to act.

BSA: sweep (“remove, take away”): The word suggests a storm wind carrying everything off at once. green (“fresh, living”): Together with dry, it means no one escapes, whether they seem alive and strong or already withered.

Hebrew: יִשְׂעָרֶנּוּ (yis’arennu, H8175) — “he will sweep it away like a storm.” The verb is linked to a whirlwind. God’s judgment comes with sudden force.

Psalms 58:10

The righteous rejoice when justice is done. They are not glad that anyone is lost. They are glad that evil is finally put right. The bloody picture is the language of a battlefield won, and it shows how complete the victory is.

BSA: avenged (“see vengeance, punished as they deserve”): This means wrongs are finally answered by God. The people of God do not take the matter into their own hands. wash (“bathe, cleanse”): The picture is of a victor walking through a field of the defeated, with the fight completely over.

See also: Romans 12:19; Revelation 19:1-2.

Psalms 58:11

People who see this will say what faith has held all along. Goodness is not wasted, and there is a God who judges on earth. When injustice looks unchecked, this verse gives the reader a settled hope. God sees, and he will set things right.

BSA: reward (“fruite, benefit”): The word is literally fruit. A righteous life bears real harvest, even if it is delayed.

See also: Genesis 18:25; Galatians 6:9.