God Judges the Earth
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?
2Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
3The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
4Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
5Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.
6Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD.
7Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
8As 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.
9Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.
10The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
God Judges the Earth
1 For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David. Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?
2 No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a snake; like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5 which doesn’t listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.
6 Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, Yahweh.
7 Let them vanish as water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.
8 Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
11 so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
God Judges the Earth
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam a of David.
1Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers?
Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?
2 No, in your hearts you devise injustice;
with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;
the liars go astray from birth.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like a cobra that shuts its ears,
5 refusing to hear the tune of the charmer
who skillfully weaves his spell.
6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths;
O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.
7 May they vanish
like water that runs off;
when they draw the bow,
may their arrows be blunted. b
8 Like a slug that dissolves in its slime,
like a woman’s stillborn child,
may they never see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the burning thorns—
whether green or dry—
He will sweep them away.
10 The righteous will rejoice
when they see they are avenged;
they will wash their feet
in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then men will say,
“There is surely a reward for the righteous!
There is surely a God who judges the earth!”
Footnotes:
1 a Miktam is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 16 and 56–60.
7 b Or when they are trodden down, may they wither like grass
God Judges the Earth
1To the Overseer. -- 'Destroy not.' -- A secret treasure, by David. Is it true, O dumb one, righteously ye speak? Uprightly ye judge, O sons of men?
2Even in heart ye work iniquities, In the land the violence of your hands ye ponder.
3The wicked have been estranged from the womb, They have erred from the belly, speaking lies.
4Their poison is as poison of a serpent, As a deaf asp shutting its ear,
5Which hearkeneth not to the voice of whisperers, A charmer of charms most skilful.
6O God, break their teeth in their mouth, The jaw-teeth of young lions break down, O Jehovah.
7They are melted as waters, They go up and down for themselves, His arrow proceedeth as they cut themselves off.
8As a snail that melteth he goeth on, As an untimely birth of a woman, They have not seen the sun.
9Before your pots discern the bramble, As well the raw as the heated He whirleth away.
10The righteous rejoiceth that he hath seen vengeance, His steps he washeth in the blood of the wicked.
11And man saith: 'Surely fruit is for the righteous: Surely there is a God judging in the earth!'
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