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Psalm 58

Prayer for Vengeance

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam.
¹ Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?^*
   Do you judge people fairly?
² No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
   your hands deal out violence on earth.

³ The wicked go astray from the womb;
   they err from their birth, speaking lies.
⁴ They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
   like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
⁵ so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
   or of the cunning enchanter.

⁶ O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
   tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
⁷ Let them vanish like water that runs away;
   like grass let them be trodden down^* and wither.
⁸ Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime;
   like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
⁹ Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
   whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!

¹⁰ The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done;
   they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
¹¹ People will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
   surely there is a God who judges on earth.’

Psalm 59

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when Saul ordered his house to be watched in order to kill him.
¹ Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
   protect me from those who rise up against me.
² Deliver me from those who work evil;
   from the bloodthirsty save me.

³ Even now they lie in wait for my life;
   the mighty stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
⁴   for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
⁵   You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
   spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.
          Selah

⁶ Each evening they come back,
   howling like dogs
   and prowling about the city.
⁷ There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
   with sharp words^* on their lips—
   for ‘Who’, they think,^* ‘will hear us?’

⁸ But you laugh at them, O Lord;
   you hold all the nations in derision.
⁹ O my strength, I will watch for you;
   for you, O God, are my fortress.
¹⁰ My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
   my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

¹¹ Do not kill them, or my people may forget;
   make them totter by your power, and bring them down,
   O Lord, our shield.
¹² For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
   let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
¹³   consume them in wrath;
   consume them until they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
   that God rules over Jacob.
          Selah

¹⁴ Each evening they come back,
   howling like dogs
   and prowling about the city.
¹⁵ They roam about for food,
   and growl if they do not get their fill.

¹⁶ But I will sing of your might;
   I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been a fortress for me
   and a refuge on the day of my distress.
¹⁷ O my strength, I will sing praises to you,
   for you, O God, are my fortress,
   the God who shows me steadfast love.