Read & explore together
God Judges the Earth
Psalm 58 is a poem that challenges unjust judges and calls on God to act. It uses strong images to show that human wickedness is real and that God’s judgement over the earth is certain.
Understanding the passage
Read these words in context
In this psalm, the speaker addresses people who are meant to judge rightly, but instead plan injustice and violence. The poem then describes the wicked with vivid comparisons, asks God to stop their power, and ends by saying that God judges the earth and rewards the righteous.
Psalms 58:1–11Main takeaway
This psalm teaches, in poetic language, that unjust human power does not escape God’s judgement.
Explore the poem and its images
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01A challenge to unjust judgesThe psalm begins with sharp questions. It asks whether these people really speak what is right and judge fairly.
Explanation
The psalm begins with sharp questions. It asks whether these people really speak what is right and judge fairly. The answer is no: in their hearts they plan injustice, and their hands spread violence on the earth. The contrast is between what judges should do and what they actually do.
02Poetic pictures of stubborn evilThe wicked are described as going astray from birth and speaking lies. Then the psalm compares them to a snake with poison and to a cobra that will not listen.
Explanation
The wicked are described as going astray from birth and speaking lies. Then the psalm compares them to a snake with poison and to a cobra that will not listen. These are poetic images showing danger and stubborn refusal, not a report of a literal animal scene.
03A prayer for God to stop their harmThe psalm asks God to break their teeth and make their attacks powerless. More images follow: water that disappears, arrows made blunt, a snail that passes away, and sudden sweeping judgement.
Explanation
The psalm asks God to break their teeth and make their attacks powerless. More images follow: water that disappears, arrows made blunt, a snail that passes away, and sudden sweeping judgement. The language is forceful poetry asking God to remove the power of the wicked.
04The final claim about GodThe closing lines say the righteous will rejoice when God’s vengeance is seen. The striking image about washing feet in blood emphasises complete defeat of the wicked.
Explanation
The closing lines say the righteous will rejoice when God’s vengeance is seen. The striking image about washing feet in blood emphasises complete defeat of the wicked. The final conclusion is the main point: there is reward for the righteous, and there is a God who judges the earth.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What do verses 1 and 2 show about the difference between fair judgement and the judges in this psalm?
Look at the words about speaking righteousness and judging blamelessly, then compare them with plotting injustice and measuring out violence.
02Which comparisons in verses 3 to 5 help you understand how the psalm describes the wicked?
List the images used there and notice what they suggest about falsehood, danger, and refusal to listen.
03According to the end of the psalm, what will people finally say about God and the righteous?
Focus on the conclusion in verse 11 and how it explains the meaning of God’s judgement.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Psalms 58:1–11
1Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?
2No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands on the earth.
3The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4Their poison is like the poison of a snake, like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5which doesn’t listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.
6Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, Yahweh.
7Let them vanish like water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.
8Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.
9Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.
10The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”