¹Justice—do you rulers know the meaning of the word?[#58:1 Or you gods.]

Do you judge the people fairly?

²No! You plot injustice in your hearts.

You spread violence throughout the land.

³These wicked people are born sinners;

even from birth they have lied and gone their own way.

⁴They spit venom like deadly snakes;

they are like cobras that refuse to listen,

⁵ignoring the tunes of the snake charmers,

no matter how skillfully they play.

⁶Break off their fangs, O God!

Smash the jaws of these lions, O Lord !

⁷May they disappear like water into thirsty ground.

Make their weapons useless in their hands.

⁸May they be like snails that dissolve into slime,

like a stillborn child who will never see the sun.

⁹God will sweep them away, both young and old,

faster than a pot heats over burning thorns.

¹⁰The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged.

They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹Then at last everyone will say,

“There truly is a reward for those who live for God;

surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.”