Psalm 58 is the 58th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

: "Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation?". In the slightly different numbering system of the Greek

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

version of the Bible and the Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

, this psalm is Psalm 57. In Latin, it is known as ''In finem ne disperdas David''. It is one of six psalms labeled a ''michtam'', which may mean an "engraving", "sculpture", "golden", or "secret". It is also classified as one of the Imprecatory Psalms. Psalm 58 is a companion piece to

Psalm 57 Psalm 57 is the 57th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me". In the slightly different numbering system of the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible and the ...

, which also describes David's difficult relationship with

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...

, and both psalms refer in their headings to

Altaschith Altaschith (; ) is a Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samarita ...

or "Do Not Destroy", possibly an ancient song whose tune was to be used in singing the psalms. The psalm forms a regular part of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music.

Themes

The

Midrash Tehillim Midrash Tehillim (Hebrew: מדרש תהלים), also known as Midrash Shocher Tov or the Midrash to Psalms, is an aggadic midrash to the Psalms. It has been known since the 11th century, when it was quoted by Nathan of Rome, by R. Isaac ben Juda ...

connects the words ''Al taschet'' ( he, אַל-תַּשְׁחֵת, do not destroy) in the Hebrew verse 1 to the episode when David took Abishai into Saul's camp and had the opportunity to kill Saul as he slept. David said, "''Al tashhitahu'' ( he, אַל-תַּשְׁחִיתֵהוּ, do not destroy him" (), which echoes these words, setting Saul's animosity toward David as the theme of this psalm. The psalm also alludes to Abner, the chief of Saul's army, who would not admit to David's righteousness when David refrained from killing Saul in the cave.

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

suggests that David composed Psalm 58 after Saul used the force of law to brand David as a traitor to the crown. David exhorts at length against either wicked people or wicked judges, the latter possibly referring to those who sided with Saul. David uses highly descriptive language comparing the wicked to snakes, serpents, cobras, and lions, and prays to God to "smash their teeth in their mouth, shatter the molars of young lions…His arrows, may they be as if crumbled to pieces". Quoting

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

, George Haydock avers that the depiction of the wicked judges refers "to the proceedings of the Jews against Christ", and adds that the psalm decries "hypocrites" and "detractors".

Text

Hebrew Bible version

Following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 58:

King James Version

# To the chief Musician,

, Michtam of David. # Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? # Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. # The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. # Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; # Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers,´charming never so wisely. # Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. # 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. # 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. # Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. # The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. # So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.

Uses

Judaism

Verse 9 in the Hebrew is said by the

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class G ...

Perek Shirah ''Perek Shira'' (Hebrew פרק שירה, lit. "Chapter of Song") is an ancient Jewish text. There are a number of versions extant, some associated with the Ashkenazic tradition, some with the Sephardic, and some with the Mizrahi Jews tradition. ...

. The entire chapter is recited as protection from an aggressive dog.

Catholic Church

From the

early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

monasteries used this psalm at the

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated b ...

office on Tuesday,''Psautier latin-français du bréviaire monastique'', p. 209, 1938/2003 according to the Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia which was established around 530. In the revision of the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the ...

following the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

, this psalm was deemed unsuitable for continued use in the Office, and is therefore omitted from the 1971

Omission in various lectionaries

Because this is an imprecatory Psalm, the 1962 Canadian Book of Common Prayer leaves out Psalm 58 (and Psalm 137). A number of various other imprecatory Psalms are omitted from a number of lectionaries usually having Psalm 58 among those redacted. Evangelicals tend to disagree and see a value in these passages.Shepherd, J.
The Place of the Imprecatory Psalms in the Canon of Scripture – Part 1
Church society.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...

set Psalm 58 in a metred version in German, "Wie nun, ihr Herren, seid ihr stumm", SWV 155, as part of the ''

Becker Psalter The ''Becker Psalter'' is a German metrical psalter authored by the Leipzig theologian Cornelius Becker and first published by Jakob Apel in Leipzig in 1602 under the title ''Der Psalter Davids Gesangweis''. Several composers set the psalms cont ...

'', first published in 1628.

References

External links

* * * Text of Psalm 58 according to th
1928 Psalter

text in Hebrew and English, mechon-mamre.org
For the leader. Do not destroy. A miktam of David / Do you indeed pronounce justice, O gods
text and footnotes, usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 58
enduringword.com
Psalm 58 / Refrain: The Lord makes himself known by his acts of justice.

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Psalm 58
at biblegateway.com
Hymns for Psalm 58
hymnary.org

{{Psalms 058 Works attributed to David