Psalm 58

How can you, when dumb, speak justly?
Do you judge people with fairness?

No, in your heart you practice injustice,
And your hands spread violence across the land.

In the womb the wicked will go astray,
And at birth pursue error and falsehood.
Their poison is like the viper’s venom;
They are a cobra that has stopped its ears
And will not heed the tune of the charmer,
However cunning the enchanter be.

O God, knock their teeth out of their mouths!
Pull out the fangs of the young lions,
O Jehovah, let them disappear
Like water poured on the thirsty ground.
Let their arrows, when shot, be blunted.
Let them be like slugs that melt away,
Like a mother’s miscarried child
That will never see the light of day.
Before your pots will feel the heat
Of the thorns, he will sweep them away,
Whether they be green or burning.

The righteous will rejoice when they see
Vengeance meted out and, they will bathe
Their feet in the blood of the wicked.
Then the people will declare, “Indeed,
There is a reward for the righteous.
And, verily, there is a God
Who dispense justice here on earth."

Psalm 57

(A psalm composed by David when he fled from Saul and hid in a cave)

Have mercy upon me, O God, have mercy,
For in you my soul takes refuge; indeed,
I find shelter in the shadow of your wings
Until the present danger passes by.

I call out to God, the most exalted,
The god who achieves his purpose for me.
He sends help from Heaven and rescues me,
Putting to shame those who tread upon me.

God sends forth his steadfast love and faithfulness.

I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down among those who are on fire.
Although they are the sons of men,
Their teeth are like spears and and arrows,
And their tongues are like sharp swords.

Be exalted, O God, higher than the heavens
And let your glory spread over the entire earth.

They have a rigged a snare for my feet.
(In distress I am discouraged).
They have dug a pit to trap me,
But they have fallen into it.

My mind is resolved, O God, my mind is resolved,
And so I will sing and make music to praise you.
Awaken, my soul!  Awaken, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!

I will exalt you, O Master, to all the peoples
And sing your praises to every foreign nation,
For your devoted love, it reaches to the skies,
And your faithfulness extends to the very clouds.

Be exalted, O God, higher than the heavens,
And let your glory spread over the entire earth.

Psalm 56

(Composed by David at the time that he was captured by the Philistines in Gath)

Be merciful to me, O God,
For man has trod me under foot
And harassed me each day with assaults.
Indeed, each day my enemies
Would consume me, for there are many
Who have the gall to fight against me.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

In God whose word I praise,
In God I put my trust.
Why then should I be afraid?
What can mortals do to me?

Whatever I say, they distort my words.
All their evil thoughts plot my ruination.
In secrecy they conspire against me.
They watch my every step, waiting in ambush.
Shall they get away with their iniquity?
In your wrath, O God, you must bring them down!

You have taken note of my tribulations
And have caught all my tears in your bottle.
Are they not inscribed in your book of records?
The day when I call out to you for help
And my enemies hasten to retreat,
Then I will know that God is on my side.

In God whose word I praise.
(Yes, in you, Jehovah)
In God I put my trust.
Why then should I be afraid?
What can mortals do to me?

I will fulfill my vows to you, O God.
I will make my thank offerings to you,
For you have rescued my body from death
And have prevented my feet from stumbling,
So I can may always walk in your presence,
O God, bathed in the light of the living.

Psalm 55

Listen to my prayer, O God.
Ignore not my plea for help.
Heed and give me an answer,
For my grievance troubles me
And I groan in my distress.

This, because of my enemy’s threats,
The oppression of the wicked;
They rain disaster upon me
And harass me with their hatred.
Within me my heart is in anguish,
The terrors of death overcome me,
A trembling fear is upon me
And horror has overwhelmed me.

I say, “Oh that I had the wings of a dove
For then I could fly away and be at peace.”
Indeed I would then wander far away
And remain in the desert wilderness.
I would hurry to find a place of shelter
That I might escape the gale and the tempest.

Confound the wicked, O Jehovah,
Make their words hard to understand,
For in the city I have seen
Much violence and civil strife.
Day and night a guards patrol its walls,
But the evil and crime is within:
The forces of destruction are there.
Lies and deceit walk down her streets.

It is not an enemy that taunts me.
If it were that, indeed I could bear it;
And if the one who rises up against me
Was someone that hates me, I could hide from him.
But it is you, my equal, my companion,
My bosom friend whose genial fellowship
I enjoyed, when, in the temple of God,
We mingled among the congregation.

My enemies, let death steal upon them,
Let them go to Hell while they are still alive,
For in their homes and hearts they are evil.

As for me, I call to God,
And Jehovah saves me.
Evening, morning, and noon,
Will I cry out and moan
And he shall hear my voice.

He safely delivers my body
From the battle waged against me,
No matter how many oppose me.

God, enthroned from old, will hear them and humble them,
Because they do no change their ways or have fear of God.
He who raises his hand against those at peace with him
Is in violation of his sacred covenant.
Give your cares to Jehovah, and he will sustain you.
He will never permit the righteous to feel terror.

But you, O God, will drag them down
Into the pit of destruction.
The violent and deceitful
Will live out only half their days. ---
But me, I put my trust in you.   

Psalm 54

(A psalm of David composed when the Ziphites came to Saul and informed him that David was hiding amongst them)

Save me, O God, by your name
And defend me with your might.
Listen to my prayer, O God;
Lend an ear to my words.

Strangers have risen against me
And violent men seek my life.
No reverence do they have for God.
But God is my deliverer,
Jehovah who sustains my life.
Let evil recoil on my foes;
Destroy them as you have promised.
I will make sacrifice to you
And with it a free-will offering.
I will thank your name, Jehovah,
For the name of Jehovah is good.
You have saved me from all my troubles;
My eyes look down upon my foes
With triumphant satisfaction.

Psalm 53

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.
People are corrupt and commit vile acts.
There is no one among them that does good.”

God looks down from heaven upon the race of men
To find someone of wisdom who seeks after God.
All have turned away and all have become corrupt,
And there is none that does good, not a single one.

Do the workers of evil have no understanding?
They consume my people as they devour bread,
But in their ignorance they never call upon God.
They are in great terror when there is nothing to fear.
God will scatter the bones of those who attack you.
They will be put to shame, because God has spurned them.

Oh that from Zion would come Israel’s salvation!
When God will free his people from their captivity,
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad.

Psalm 52

(A Psalm by David composed when Doeg the Edomite reported to Saul that David had gone to the house of Ahimelek)

Why do you boast of evil, O man of might?
(The goodness of God endures forever).
You tongue is ever plotting destruction,
Like a sharp razor, a worker of deceit.
You love evil over good, lies over truth.
You love destructive words, O lying tongue.

God will surely bring you down for all time.
He will pluck you, pulling you out of your tent,
Rooting you from the land of the living.

The righteous will see this and be awed.
They will laugh at him and observe,
“Look what has happened to a man
Who did not make God his refuge;
He put his trust in his great wealth
And found his strength in evil deeds.”

But I am like an olive tree
That blossoms in the house of God.
I trust in the loving kindness
Of God forever and ever.
And I will praise you forever
Because of all that you have done.
In the presence of the godly,
I put my hope in your good name.