Psalms 58 (LSB)

Chapter Text

58:1 For the choir director. Al-tashheth. Of David. A Mikhtam. Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods? Do you judge with equity, O sons of men?

58:2 No, in heart you work unrighteousness; On earth you prepare a path for the violence of your hands.

58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak falsehood wander in error from birth.

58:4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent; Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,

58:5 So that it does not hear the voice of charmers, Or a skillful caster of spells.

58:6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Yahweh.

58:7 Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.

58:8 Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, Like the miscarriages of a woman which never behold the sun.

58:9 Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the living and the burning alike.

58:10 The righteous will be glad when he beholds the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

58:11 And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "choir", "director", "al-tashheth", "david", "mikhtam", "indeed", "speak", and "righteousness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "choir" and "director", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local LSB text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "choir" and "director" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "choir" and "director" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.