Psalms 58

The AIT Bible

0For the director; “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.

A Prayer Against Unjust Rulers

1Do you indeed speak righteousness in silence? Do you judge the sons of men with uprightness?

2No—in the heart you work injustices; on the earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.

3The wicked are estranged from the womb; from birth they go astray, speaking lies.

4Their venom is like the venom of a serpent, like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,

5that will not listen to the voice of charmers, of a skillful weaver of spells.

6O God, break the teeth in their mouth; tear out the fangs of the young lions, Yahweh.

7Let them melt away like water that runs off; when he aims his arrows, let them be as though cut down.

8Like a snail that dissolves as it goes, like a woman’s stillbirth that never sees the sun.

9Before your pots can feel the thorns—whether green or ablaze—he will sweep them away.

10The righteous one will rejoice when he sees vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.

11And mankind will say, “Surely there is fruit for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on the earth.”

Where this passage connects across Scripture — each link typed and reasoned, part of the AIT Bible Nexus Chart.

parallel 1 Samuel 19:11 — The superscription refers to the same event narrated: Saul sending men to watch David's house to kill him.
allusion Jeremiah 8:17 — Both use the image of a serpent that cannot be charmed as a picture of incorrigible wickedness.
allusion Psalms 140:3 — Shared imagery of the wicked's speech being like the venom of a serpent.
thematic Ecclesiastes 10:1 — Both invoke the snake charmer and the danger of the serpent that will not be charmed.
thematic Psalms 51:5 — Both describe the wicked/sinful as estranged or sinful from birth/the womb.
thematic Psalms 3:7 — Both invoke God to break the teeth of the wicked as a plea for deliverance.
thematic Psalms 3:1 — Both invoke God breaking/shattering the teeth of the wicked as an image of defeating enemies.