Psalms 58

¹The title of the eiyte and fiftithe salm. `In Jeroms translacioun thus, To the ouercomer, that thou lese not Dauid, meke and simple, `whanne Saul sente and kepte the hous, to slee hym. `In Ebreu thus, To the ouercomyng, leese thou not the semeli song of Dauid, and so forth.

²Mi God, delyuer thou me fro myn enemyes; and delyuer thou me fro hem that risen ayens me.

³Delyuer thou me fro hem that worchen wickidnesse; and saue thou me fro menquelleris.

⁴For lo! thei han take my soule; stronge men fellen in on me.

⁵Nethir my wickidnesse, nether my synne; Lord, Y ran with out wickidnesse, and dresside `my werkis.

⁶Rise vp thou in to my meetyng, and se; and thou, Lord God of vertues, art God of Israel. Yyue thou tent to visite alle folkis; do thou not merci to alle that worchen wickidnesse.

⁷Thei schulen be turned at euentid, and thei as doggis schulen suffre hungir; and thei schulen cumpas the citee.

⁸Lo! thei schulen speke in her mouth, and a swerd in her lippis; for who herde?

⁹And thou, Lord, schalt scorne hem; thou schalt bringe alle folkis to nouyt.

¹⁰I schal kepe my strengthe to thee;

¹¹for God is myn vptaker, my God, his mercy schal come byfore me.

¹²God schewide to me on myn enemyes, slee thou not hem; lest ony tyme my puples foryete. Scatere thou hem in thi vertu; and, Lord, my defender, putte thou hem doun.

¹³Putte thou doun the trespas of her mouth, and the word of her lippis; and be thei takun in her pride. And of cursyng and of leesyng; thei schulen be schewid in the endyng.

¹⁴In the ire of ending, and thei schulen not be; and thei schulen wite, that the Lord schal be Lord of Jacob, and of the endis of erthe.

¹⁵Thei schulen be turned at euentid, and thei as doggis schulen suffre hungur; and thei schulen cumpas the citee.

¹⁶Thei schulen be scaterid abrood, for to eete; sotheli if thei ben not fillid, and thei schulen grutche.

¹⁷But Y schal synge thi strengthe; and eerli Y schal enhaunse thi merci. For thou art maad myn vptaker; and my refuyt, in the dai of my tribulacioun.

¹⁸Myn helper, Y schal synge to thee; for thou art God, myn vptaker, my God, my mercy.

Psalms 58

¹Do 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.