Psalm 58 (A Chapter a Day)

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam . ^[a]

¹ Do you rulers indeed speak justly?
Do you judge uprightly among men?

² No, in your heart you devise injustice,
and your hands mete out violence on the earth.

³ Even from birth the wicked go astray;
from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.

⁴ Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,

⁵ that will not heed the tune of the charmer,
however skillful the enchanter may be.

⁶ Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;
tear out, O LORD, the fangs of the lions!

⁷ Let them vanish like water that flows away;
when they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted.

⁸ Like a slug melting away as it moves along,
like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun.

⁹ Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away. ^[b]

¹⁰ The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,
when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹ Then men will say,
“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
surely there is a God who judges the earth.”

Psalm 56 (A Chapter a Day)

For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam . When the Philistines had seized him in Gath. ^[a]

¹ Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me;
all day long they press their attack.

² My slanderers pursue me all day long;
many are attacking me in their pride.

³ When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.

⁴ In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?

⁵ All day long they twist my words;
they are always plotting to harm me.

⁶ They conspire, they lurk,
they watch my steps,
eager to take my life.

⁷ On no account let them escape;
in your anger, O God, bring down the nations.

⁸ Record my lament;
list my tears on your scroll ^[b]—
are they not in your record?

⁹ Then my enemies will turn back
when I call for help.
By this I will know that God is for me.

¹⁰ In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise-

¹¹ in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

¹² I am under vows to you, O God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.

¹³ For you have delivered me ^[c] from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life. ^[d]