Psalms
Psalm 58
KJV
Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.
Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord.
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.
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.
Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.
The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Overview
Psalm 58 is an imprecatory protest against corrupt justice. It exposes rulers who distort judgment, uses severe poetic images for the collapse of violent power, and refuses to place vengeance in private hands.
Setting and context
The psalm addresses unjust authority and entrenched violence through prophetic accusation and imprecatory prayer. Its harsh metaphors belong to ancient poetic rhetoric and must not be literalized into permission for retaliation or dehumanization.
Themes
Corrupt judgment and public accountability · Violence rooted in the heart · Poetic hyperbole about entrenched evil · Imprecatory prayer rather than private revenge · The collapse of predatory power · God as the final judge
Reflection
Confront injustice truthfully, resist dehumanizing rhetoric, seek lawful protection for the vulnerable, and entrust final judgment to God rather than personal retaliation.
Reading notes
Its severe images are imprecatory poetry that place judgment with God; they do not authorize revenge, vigilantism, harassment, political violence, or group-targeting.
Key passages
Psalm 58:1: Those entrusted with judgment are challenged to speak and enact justice honestly. Evaluate authority by whether it protects truth and people rather than merely by status. Psalm 58:6: The prayer asks God to break the predatory power of violent oppressors using the image of shattered teeth. Pray for harmful power to be restrained without taking revenge into your own hands. Psalm 58:10: Ancient victory imagery celebrates the defeat of violent evil in shocking language. Long for oppression to end without glorifying cruelty or bloodshed. Psalm 58:11: The psalm ends by affirming that justice and divine accountability are real. Let the reality of judgment restrain despair and private vengeance alike.
Questions readers ask
Why is Psalm 58 so violent? It is imprecatory poetry protesting severe injustice through extreme imagery while placing judgment in God’s hands. Does Psalm 58 teach that babies are born evil? Verse 3 uses hyperbolic birth-language to describe entrenched corruption; it should not be treated as a complete doctrine of infant guilt. Can Psalm 58 be used against political opponents? No. Its metaphors do not authorize dehumanization, collective blame, harassment, or violence against modern groups or individuals.