Psalm 58

Curse for corrupt words and judgment
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Text
Explanation
The first two verses show the reason for the psalm.
 1 ¶ <<To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David.>> Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? 
 2 Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
  1 - O congregation  Apparently not a correct translation for an obscure Hebrew word. The word may serve to intensify the sentence. The RSV translates it "gods." The word seems unnecessary for clear understanding of the text and may best be ignored as does the NIV.
  1 - Do ye judge uprightly ... Or "Do you judge the sons of men uprightly"? (RSV).
  2 - Ye weigh Violence instead of justice.
 3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. 
 4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; 
 5 Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.
  4 - Like the deaf adder As we can see from the verse the adder (snake) is not really deaf. So unrighteous judges remain indifferent to the cries of those who have been unjustly treated.
 6 ¶ Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD.
 7 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.
.8 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.
 9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.
  6 - Break their teeth See ps00307.
  7 - Melt away Compare 2sa1414, jb0615.
  8 - Snail which melteth Snails don't melt although they may have seemed to.
  9 - Before your pots can feel The metaphor is unclear but we see that David is praying for a quick solution.
.10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
.11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
  11 - There is a reward Praise God!
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